JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates
The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s second friend who got in a brand-new stage of life Friday.
The event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to seek more education or employment in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.
For the previous four months, those registered in the program finished courses provided by a partnership amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and employment PA CareerLink.
The program included courses offered at Johnstown public housing community rooms to remove individuals’ transport barriers.
The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview skills, employment Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, in addition to field journeys for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing business consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.
The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, but opted out after discovering work or other additional education chances along the way.
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 throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority & 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.
RJ Montague (best), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while getting their Certificate of Completion during 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, celebrates 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, praises the graduates throughout 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 praises the participants completing 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 progressed to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more associates are arranged, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and
PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the finest concepts we’ve had for finding quality employees for companies in the area,”Balog said.”We came up with the concept of dealing with our public housing systems because lots of people had transportation and child care 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 congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD recognition as a best practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority each year for particularly bettering the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from family and buddies in attendance, along with Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were crucial in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.