JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s second cohort who got in a new phase of life Friday.

The ceremony 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 area, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the past 4 months, employment those enrolled in the program finished courses supplied by a collaboration amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to get rid of individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, task search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, as well as school outing for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of Kitron and .

The event Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, but pulled out after discovering employment or other additional education chances along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (ideal), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, celebrates after receiving 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 section of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates after getting her Certificate of Completion throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, employment 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, employment January 31, 2025. Looking on, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and employment JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, commemorates 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 child Dakota Marong, 3, applauds the graduates throughout 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 praises the participants finishing 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 accomplice have progressed to further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to individuals and finished its very first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more cohorts are scheduled, Grimaldi said. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best concepts we’ve had for finding quality employees for companies in the location,”Balog stated.”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 outside of Johnstown’s public housing.” 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 praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition provided to one authority every year for particularly improving the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and employment family in attendance, in addition to Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and representatives from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.