JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd accomplice who got in a new phase of life Friday.

The event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a brand-new start for the graduates, who are set to seek more education or work in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the previous 4 months, 24-Hour Loan those registered in the program completed courses supplied by a collaboration amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public housing community spaces to get rid of individuals’ transportation barriers.

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

The event Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, but chose out after finding work or other additional education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates 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 section of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates after receiving her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland https://www.opad.biz/ Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

RJ Montague (best), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while receiving their Certificate of Completion throughout the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, [empty] 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 event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, jobteck.com 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, praises 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 ceremony 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 2nd associate have advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields consisting of 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, two more associates are set up, [empty] Grimaldi stated. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best ideas we’ve had for discovering quality staff members for employers in the location,”Balog said.”We came up with the concept of dealing with our public real estate systems since lots of people had transport and child 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 congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD recognition as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority each year for specifically improving the lives of its citizens, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in presence, 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 previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.