JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority's Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program's 2nd accomplice who entered a new stage 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 more education or employment in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program consisted of courses supplied at Johnstown public housing community rooms to remove participants' transportation barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, task search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and employment life skills management, along with sightseeing tour for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing business consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, but decided out after finding employment or other additional education opportunities 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 area of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates after getting her Certificate of Completion during 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 getting 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 left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, employment of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, celebrates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, employment of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, employment 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 individuals 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
[email protected]!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi said members of the program's 2nd cohort have actually advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to individuals and graduated its very first friend in June. After Friday's graduation, two more friends are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick."This was one of the very best concepts we have actually had for finding quality staff members for employers in the location,"Balog said."We came up with the idea of working with our public real estate units since lots of people had transportation 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 said the program has actually people"

lift themselves up and get them linked. "He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority yearly for specifically improving the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from family and good friends in presence, along with 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 employment former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.