JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s 2nd associate who entered a 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 employment in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director www.opad.biz Mike Alberts.

For the previous four months, those registered in the program completed provided by a partnership amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

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

The curriculum included conflict management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, as well as field trips for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based production business including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, however pulled out after discovering employment or other additional education chances along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), Hornyofficebabes.Com/Movies-Lesbian/ of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates after getting her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, https://studentvolunteers.us/ January 31, 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates after getting 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 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. Searching, 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, 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 section of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, praises the graduates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland [empty] Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi praises the individuals completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during 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 said members of the program’s 2nd mate have progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and graduated its very first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more associates are scheduled, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the finest ideas we have actually had for finding quality staff members for employers in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of working with our public housing systems because many individuals had transport and childcare 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 stated the program has actually helped individuals”

raise themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD recognition as a best practice, a recognition given to one authority each year for especially bettering the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and buddies in participation, 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 were critical in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.