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 mate who went into 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 additional education or employment in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program consisted of courses supplied at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to remove participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum consisted of conflict management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, along with excursion for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based production business including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, however pulled out after finding employment or other more education opportunities along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, celebrates after getting her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section of Johnstown, employment celebrates 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, 2025.

RJ Montague (right), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while getting 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. Searching, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and employment JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, celebrates throughout 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 child Dakota Marong, 3, applauds the graduates throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, employment 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates the participants 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
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s second accomplice have progressed to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to participants and graduated its first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more associates are arranged, 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 have actually had for finding quality staff members for companies in the area,”Balog said.”We created the concept of dealing with our public housing units because numerous people had transport 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 said the program has helped people”

raise themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition provided to one authority annually for specifically improving the lives of its citizens, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in attendance, as well as Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s workplace. Fetterman, employment D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were important in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.