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JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and employment Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s second cohort who entered 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 additional education or work in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood spaces to eliminate individuals’ transport barriers.

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

The event Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however decided out after finding work or employment other further along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, celebrates 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.

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 event 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 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. 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 section of Johnstown, commemorates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, employment January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, employment 3, praises the graduates throughout 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 praises the participants completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during a graduation event 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 advanced 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 participants and finished its first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more mates are scheduled, Grimaldi said. 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 staff members for employers in the area,”Balog stated.”We created the idea of working with our public housing units due to the fact that 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 stated the program has assisted individuals”

lift themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, employment an acknowledgment provided to one authority annually for specifically improving the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family 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 workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were important in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.