JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s 2nd mate who got in a brand-new phase of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to look for more education or work in the Johnstown location, 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 included courses supplied at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to eliminate participants’ transport barriers.

The curriculum consisted of conflict management, task search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, in addition to excursion for a and trips of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, but pulled out after finding work or other additional 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 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.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates after getting her Certificate of Completion throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event 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 receiving their Certificate of Completion during the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, referall.us January 31, 2025. Looking on, from delegated right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, celebrates 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 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 praises the participants completing 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 further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and finished its very first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more associates are arranged, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the very best ideas we’ve had for finding quality workers for employers in the location,”Balog stated.”We created the idea of working with our public real estate units because lots of people 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 actually helped people”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD recognition as a finest practice, an acknowledgment given to one authority every year for especially bettering the lives of its citizens, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from family and friends in presence, as well as 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 promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.