JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority's Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program's second friend who got in a new stage 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, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program included courses supplied at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to eliminate individuals' transportation barriers.

The curriculum included conflict management, task search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and janhelp.co.in life abilities management, along with expedition for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based production companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, but decided out after finding employment or other further education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

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

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), www.opad.biz of the Dale section 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, sowjobs.com 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 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, 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 daughter Dakota Marong, 3, applauds the graduates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, [empty] January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates 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
[email protected]!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program's second accomplice have actually advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its first accomplice in June. After Friday's graduation, 2 more accomplices are set up, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick."This was one of the very best concepts we've had for finding quality staff members for companies in the location,"Balog said."We developed the concept of working with our public real estate systems because lots of people had transportation 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 actually helped 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, a recognition offered to one authority every year for specifically bettering the lives of its citizens, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and buddies in participation, as well as 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 crucial in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.