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 friend who got in a brand-new phase of life Friday.

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

For the previous 4 months, those registered in the program completed courses supplied by a partnership among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood spaces to eliminate individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum included conflict management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, in addition to school trip for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, but chose out after discovering employment or other further education opportunities along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, https://sowjobs.com/employer/platinummillwork celebrates after getting 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 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 (best), 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. Looking on, [empty] from delegated right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, celebrates 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 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, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi praises the participants finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during a graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland ukcarers.co.uk 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 2nd cohort have actually advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and finished its first mate 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 site administrator .”This was among the very best concepts we have actually had for discovering quality staff members for companies in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of working with our public housing systems due to the fact that lots of people had transport and child 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 assisted people”

lift themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD recognition as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority each year for especially improving the lives of its homeowners, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from family and good friends in attendance, 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, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.