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 went into a brand-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 seek further education or employment in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director https://www.opad.biz/ Mike Alberts.

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

The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public housing neighborhood spaces to get rid of individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum consisted of conflict management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, in addition to expedition for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production business including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, however pulled out after finding employment or other further education chances 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 Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, 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, https://horizonsmaroc.com 2025.

RJ Montague (best), 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. Looking on, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and teachersconsultancy.com JARI President and https://horizonsmaroc.com/entreprises/tresesenta/ CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, commemorates 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 daughter Dakota Marong, https://studentvolunteers.us/employer/wbgovtjob/ 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 participants 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 second cohort have progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied 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 started by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick. »This was one of the very best concepts we’ve had for discovering quality staff members for companies in the location, »Balog stated. »We developed the concept of dealing with our public housing systems since many people had transportation and childcare 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 helped people »

lift themselves up and get them connected. « He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has made HUD recognition as a best practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority yearly for particularly improving the lives of its homeowners, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and rightlane.beparian.com a standing ovation from family and good friends in attendance, along with 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 championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.