JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates
The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd cohort who went into a brand-new phase 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 further education or employment in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.
For the past 4 months, those enrolled in the program finished courses supplied by a collaboration among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.
The program included courses offered at Johnstown public housing neighborhood spaces to eliminate participants’ transport barriers.
The curriculum included dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, in addition to school outing for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.
The ceremony Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however pulled out after discovering work or other additional education opportunities along the method.
PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation
Bernice Sanders (ideal), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, referall.us commemorates 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.
Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section of Johnstown, commemorates 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. Searching, from left to 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 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 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 program’s second associate have actually progressed to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to individuals and finished its first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more friends are set up, 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 very best ideas we’ve had for finding quality employees for companies in the location,”Balog stated.”We created the concept of working with our public housing units because many individuals had transport and childcare barriers that kept them from accessing resources beyond Johnstown’s public housing.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the has actually helped people”
raise themselves up and get them connected. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD recognition as a finest practice, a recognition given to one authority yearly for especially bettering the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and buddies in presence, along with 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 previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.