JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates
The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s second mate who got in a new phase 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 work in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.
For the previous four months, those registered in the program completed courses supplied by a partnership among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.
The program consisted of courses provided at Johnstown public housing neighborhood spaces to remove individuals’ transport barriers.
The curriculum consisted of conflict management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, along with school outing for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based production business including Kitron and Compass Systems.
The ceremony Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, however pulled out after finding work or other more education opportunities along the method.
PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation
Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, commemorates 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.
Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, celebrates 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, January 31, 2025.
RJ Montague (right), of Johnstown, employment 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 ceremony 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, employment 2025.
Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, praises 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 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
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi said members of the program’s 2nd mate have advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to individuals and finished its first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more accomplices are scheduled, . The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and
PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick. »This was one of the very best ideas we’ve had for finding quality staff members for employers in the area, »Balog said. »We developed the idea of dealing with our public real estate units because many individuals had transport and kid care barriers that kept them from accessing resources beyond Johnstown’s public real estate. » U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director employment Michael Horvath stated the program has actually helped people »
lift themselves up and get them linked. « He congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD recognition as a finest practice, a recognition offered to one authority yearly for specifically bettering the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in participation, 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 office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and employment former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were crucial in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.
