JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s second friend 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 past four months, those registered in the program finished courses provided by a partnership amongst Penn Highlands, inquiry Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

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

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

The event Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, but chose out after discovering employment or other further 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 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 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 during the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, MATURE OFFICE PORN & SEX PICTURES of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, commemorates throughout 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 section of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, 3, applauds 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 individuals completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during a graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

By Thomas Slusser
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director [empty] of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s second friend have progressed to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to individuals and graduated its very first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts are set up, 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 best ideas we’ve had for finding quality staff members for employers in the area,”Balog stated.”We developed the concept of working with our public real estate systems due to the fact that many individuals had transportation and childcare 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 said the program has assisted individuals”

raise themselves up and get them linked. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority each year for specifically bettering the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from family and pals in presence, as well as Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, theboss.wesupportrajini.com D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were critical in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.