JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority's Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program's second cohort who entered a brand-new phase of life Friday.

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

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

The courses offered at Johnstown public housing community rooms to get rid of participants' transportation barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and [empty] life abilities management, in addition to excursion for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, however decided out after discovering employment or other further education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, celebrates after getting her Certificate of Completion throughout 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 area 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 throughout 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, [empty] of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, commemorates 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 area 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, January 31, la prairie skin caviar liquid lift serum 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi praises the individuals finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during 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 stated members of the program's second cohort have advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its very first friend in June. After Friday's graduation, 2 more mates are set up, holisticrecruiters.uk Grimaldi said. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick."This was among the best concepts we've had for finding quality workers for employers in the area,"Balog stated."We developed the idea of working with our public housing units because lots of people had transportation and child care 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 assisted individuals"

raise themselves up and get them connected. "He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD recognition as a best practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority every year for specifically improving the lives of its homeowners, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from family and buddies in attendance, https://teachersconsultancy.com/employer/147837/jobspk 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 workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were crucial in promoting the program, empleosrapidos.com JARI President Linda Thomson said.