JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s 2nd cohort who got in a new stage of life Friday.

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

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

The program included courses supplied at Johnstown public housing neighborhood rooms to get rid of participants’ transportation barriers.

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

The event Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however pulled out after finding work or other more education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale area 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 employment 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, January 31, 2025.

RJ Montague (ideal), 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 event 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 employment CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area 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 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 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 second associate have actually advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to participants and graduated its first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts are scheduled, Grimaldi stated. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the best ideas we have actually had for discovering quality workers for companies in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the concept of dealing with our public housing units 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 actually helped individuals”

lift themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, a recognition offered to one authority every year for specifically bettering the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in participation, as well as Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, employment 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 promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.