JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s second friend who got in a new stage of life Friday.

The event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a brand-new beginning for the graduates, who are set to seek additional education or work in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director .

For the previous four months, those registered in the program completed courses offered by a collaboration amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public housing neighborhood spaces to remove participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, task search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Small Amount Loan Excel, and life abilities management, as well as school outing for a robotics bootcamp and [empty] tours of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, but pulled out after finding work or other further education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, celebrates after getting 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 section 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, jobsdirect.lk 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, celest-interim.fr 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, 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 area of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, https://www.opad.biz/ 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 individuals 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 friend have progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and [empty] graduated its first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more cohorts are set up, Grimaldi stated. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best ideas we have actually had for finding quality workers for employers in the area,”Balog stated.”We developed the concept of working with our public housing systems because numerous individuals had transportation and kid 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 stated the program has actually assisted people”

lift themselves up and get them linked. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, an acknowledgment given to one authority annually for particularly improving the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and good friends in participation, in addition to Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, 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.