JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 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 brand-new beginning 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 4 months, those enrolled in the program completed courses provided by a collaboration among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

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

The curriculum included conflict management, job search and [empty] interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, as well as expedition for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of 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 way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, celebrates after receiving her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, galmudugjobs.com 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 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. Searching, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, akinsemployment.ca of the Oakhurst area 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 section of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, 3, praises the graduates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates the participants finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during a graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

By Thomas Slusser
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director sowjobs.com of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi said members of the program’s 2nd mate have advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to individuals and graduated its first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts are arranged, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the finest ideas we have actually had for discovering quality workers for employers in the area,”Balog stated.”We came up with the idea of dealing with our public housing systems because many individuals had transportation and childcare 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 Michael Horvath said the program has actually helped individuals”

raise themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority yearly for specifically bettering the lives of its citizens, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from family and pals in participation, as well as Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, https://teachersconsultancy.com/employer/147837/jobspk Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., horizonsmaroc.com and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.