JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s second accomplice who got in a brand-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 seek further education or work in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public housing community spaces to remove participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum consisted of conflict management, task search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, 24-Hour Loan and life abilities management, as well as sightseeing tour for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however pulled out after discovering work or other additional education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates 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), of the Dale section of Johnstown, commemorates 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, https://studentvolunteers.us 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, commemorates 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, 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, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates the participants completing 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
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi said members of the program’s second cohort have progressed 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 participants and finished its first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, studentvolunteers.us two more associates are arranged, 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 ideas we’ve had for finding quality workers for companies in the location,”Balog stated.”We came up with the idea of working with our public housing units because lots of people had transport 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 actually helped individuals”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority yearly for specifically improving the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family 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., [Redirect-307] and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.