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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 entered a brand-new phase of life Friday.

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

For the past four months, those enrolled in the program finished courses provided by a collaboration amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses offered at Johnstown public housing community rooms to eliminate individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, task search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, as well as school trip for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, but pulled out after discovering 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, 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 area of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates 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.

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, referall.us January 31, 2025. Searching, from delegated right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI 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, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, applauds 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 congratulates the participants 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 stated members of the program’s 2nd associate have progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to individuals and graduated its very first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more mates are set up, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick. »This was one of the best concepts we’ve had for discovering quality staff members for employers in the area, »Balog stated. »We created the idea of working with our public real estate units due to the fact that lots of people had transport and childcare barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public real estate. » U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath stated the program has helped people »

lift themselves up and get them linked. « He congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD recognition as a best practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority each year for specifically bettering the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and 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 were instrumental in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.