JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

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

The event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to look for further education or work in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the previous 4 months, those enrolled in the program completed courses offered by a collaboration amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public housing neighborhood spaces to eliminate participants’ transport barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, along with school trip for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production business including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, but pulled out after discovering work or other more education chances along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (ideal), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, commemorates after receiving her Certificate of throughout 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, commemorates 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 (right), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while receiving their Certificate of Completion during the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, http://www.thegrainfather.co.nz/ January 31, 2025. Looking on, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and Hornyofficebabes.Com/Movies-Lesbian/ JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, celebrates throughout 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 daughter Dakota Marong, 3, praises the graduates throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, https://studentvolunteers.us 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates the participants finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during a graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, https://seedvertexnetwork.co.ke/employer/working/ January 31, 2025.

By Thomas Slusser
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s 2nd accomplice have actually advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to individuals and graduated its very first cohort in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more cohorts are scheduled, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the finest ideas we’ve had for discovering quality workers for companies in the location,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of working with our public housing units because lots of people 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 assisted individuals”

lift themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD recognition as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority yearly for especially improving the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and pals in attendance, as well as Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and representatives from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were instrumental in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.