JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority's Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program's 2nd mate who got in a new stage of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a new beginning for the graduates, who are set to look for more education or employment in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the past four months, those enrolled in the program finished courses provided by a collaboration among Penn Highlands, https://www.opad.biz Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses offered at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to get rid of participants' transport barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, as well as sightseeing tour for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based production business including Kitron and Compass Systems.

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

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, [empty] 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area 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, 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 event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, [empty] January 31, 2025. Searching, from left to 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 throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, 3, applauds 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 praises the participants 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 associate have progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its very first cohort in June. After graduation, two more friends are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was started by former 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 finding quality staff members for employers in the location,"Balog said."We developed the concept of dealing with our public real estate units due to the fact that lots of people had transport and kid care barriers that kept them from accessing resources beyond 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 connected. "He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority every year for especially bettering the lives of its homeowners, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from family and buddies in presence, along with Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, akrs.ae 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 were crucial in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.