JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd accomplice who went into a brand-new phase of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a new beginning for the graduates, who are set to look for additional education or employment in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the past four months, those enrolled in the program completed courses offered by a partnership among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses offered at Johnstown public real estate community rooms to get rid of participants’ transportation barriers.

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

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, but chose out after discovering work or other additional education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

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

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section 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 (ideal), 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, 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 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 daughter Dakota Marong, 3, applauds 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 & throughout a graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, referall.us 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 additional education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and finished its very first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more accomplices are scheduled, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the finest ideas we’ve had for discovering quality employees for companies in the area,”Balog stated.”We came up with the concept of dealing with our public housing units due to the fact that many individuals had transport and kid 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 helped people”

raise themselves up and get them connected. “He congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority yearly for especially improving the lives of its citizens, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and buddies 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 workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.