JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd associate who entered a new stage of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to look for further education or work in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director employment Mike Alberts.

For the previous 4 months, those registered in the program finished courses provided by a collaboration among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public housing neighborhood rooms to eliminate individuals’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included conflict management, task search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, in addition to sightseeing tour for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based production business including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, however pulled out after finding employment or employment 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, celebrates 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, 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

RJ Montague (right), 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 JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, celebrates 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 child Dakota Marong, 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 congratulates the individuals finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout a graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, employment January 31, 2025.

By Thomas Slusser
[email protected]!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s 2nd cohort have progressed to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to individuals and finished its first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more friends are scheduled, Grimaldi said. The program was started by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the very best ideas 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 units due to the fact that many individuals had transport and child care 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 linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment given to one authority yearly for especially improving the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in participation, in addition to Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, employment Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and representatives from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.