JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd cohort who entered a new stage of life Friday.

The event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a new beginning for the graduates, who are set to seek additional education or work in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the previous four months, those registered in the courses offered by a partnership among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public housing neighborhood rooms to remove individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, as well as expedition for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, however decided out after finding work or other additional education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (ideal), of the Coopersdale section 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), job of the Dale area of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates after receiving her Certificate of Completion throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

RJ Montague (right), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while getting their Certificate of Completion throughout the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, from delegated 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

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

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi praises the participants finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during 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 stated members of the program’s second mate have actually advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and graduated its first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more accomplices are scheduled, Grimaldi stated. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the best ideas we have actually had for finding quality staff members for employers in the area,”Balog said.”We developed 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 beyond Johnstown’s public real estate.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath stated the program has actually helped people”

raise themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority each year for particularly improving the lives of its locals, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and friends in presence, 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, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.