JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s second associate who entered 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 look for more education or work in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the previous four months, those enrolled in the program completed courses supplied 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 included dispute management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and https://studentvolunteers.us/employer/nohproblem/ Excel, and life abilities management, along with school outing for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however pulled out after finding employment or other more education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), 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, Small Amount Loan 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates after getting 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 (ideal), 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 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, 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, https://teachersconsultancy.com/employer/147817/tayseerconsultants 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 recrutamentotvde.pt 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 accomplice have progressed to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to participants and finished its very first cohort in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more associates are arranged, Grimaldi stated. 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 have actually had for discovering quality workers for employers in the area,”Balog stated.”We created the idea of dealing with our public real estate systems since many individuals had transportation and childcare 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 actually assisted people”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has made HUD recognition as a finest practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority every year for specifically improving the lives of its residents, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from family and pals in participation, in addition to Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.