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JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s 2nd friend who entered a brand-new stage of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a brand-new beginning for the graduates, who are set to seek further education or employment in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the previous 4 months, those registered in the program finished courses supplied by a collaboration among Penn Highlands, [empty] Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public real estate community spaces to remove individuals’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, [empty] along with excursion for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, however pulled out after finding employment or other further education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, commemorates after getting her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates after receiving her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

RJ Montague (ideal), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while receiving their Certificate of Completion throughout the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Looking on, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, commemorates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, praises the graduates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates the participants completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout a graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

By Thomas Slusser
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi said members of the program’s second cohort have actually progressed to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to individuals and finished its first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more cohorts are set up, Grimaldi stated. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.“This was among the very best ideas we’ve had for discovering quality employees for employers in the area,“Balog stated.“We came up with the idea of working with our public real estate units since many individuals had transport and kid care barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public real estate.“ U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the program has actually helped people“

lift themselves up and get them connected. „He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority yearly for particularly bettering the lives of its locals, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and [empty] a standing ovation from household and friends in participation, along with Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s workplace. Fetterman, hornyofficebabes.com/archive/indian-office-porn/ D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were instrumental in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.