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JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-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 more education or work in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

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

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

The event Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, however chose out after discovering employment or other more education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, celebrates 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.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section 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, job 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College 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 area 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 area of Johnstown, with her child 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 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 stated members of the program’s 2nd associate have advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and finished its first cohort in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best ideas we have actually had for finding quality staff members for employers in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of dealing with our public housing systems because lots of people had transportation 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 said the program has assisted individuals”

raise themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, a recognition offered to one authority every year for especially improving the lives of its homeowners, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and job a standing ovation from friends and family in attendance, along with Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.