JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates
The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s second friend who got in a new stage of life Friday.
The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a brand-new beginning for the graduates, employment who are set to seek additional education or employment employment in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.
For the previous 4 months, those enrolled in the program finished courses supplied by a partnership amongst Penn Highlands, employment Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.
The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public real estate community rooms to eliminate 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 trips of technology-based manufacturing 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 work or other further education opportunities along the way.
PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation
Bernice Sanders (ideal), employment of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, 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, employment 2025.
Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates 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, 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 throughout the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community in Richland Township on Friday, employment January 31, employment 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 area 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, 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 congratulates the individuals finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during 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 mate have actually advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more accomplices are arranged, Grimaldi stated. 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 concepts we’ve had for finding quality staff members for employers in the location,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of working with our public housing systems since lots of people 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 stated the program has actually assisted individuals”
lift themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority annually for particularly bettering the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in participation, 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.