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 associate 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 seek additional education or employment in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the past 4 months, those registered in the program completed courses provided by a collaboration among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to get rid of individuals’ transportation barriers.

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

The ceremony Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, however opted out after discovering employment or other additional education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, celebrates after receiving 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.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates after receiving 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 (best), 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Looking on, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and 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, applauds 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 praises 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 additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for employment accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to individuals and graduated its first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more friends are scheduled, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by previous JARI Workforce Development Director employment Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best concepts we have actually had for discovering quality employees for companies in the location,”Balog stated.”We developed the idea of working with our public real estate units because lots of people had transportation 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 assisted people”

raise themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority yearly for specifically bettering the lives of its homeowners, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and employment family in presence, employment along with 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 previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.