JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program's second friend who went into 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 additional education or employment in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program consisted of courses supplied at Johnstown public housing community spaces to remove participants' transportation barriers.

The curriculum included conflict management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, in addition to excursion for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, but opted out after finding work or other more education chances along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section 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, commemorates with graduates after getting 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 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, 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 area of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, 3, praises the graduates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland referall.us 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 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 friend have advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its first friend in June. After Friday's graduation, two more accomplices are set up, 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 one of the best concepts we have actually had for finding quality employees for companies in the area,"Balog stated."We developed the concept of dealing with our public real estate units due to the fact that lots of people had transport and childcare 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 people"

raise 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, a recognition offered to one authority annually for especially improving the lives of its homeowners, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in attendance, as well as 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 crucial in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.