JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

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

For the previous 4 months, those enrolled in the program finished courses provided by a partnership amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program consisted of courses supplied at Johnstown public real estate community spaces to remove individuals’ transport barriers.

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

The event Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however decided out after discovering work or other further education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section 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 section of Johnstown, commemorates 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 (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 event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, 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 section of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, applauds 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 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 stated members of the program’s 2nd associate have actually advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more accomplices are set up, Grimaldi stated. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best ideas we’ve had for finding quality workers for employers in the area,”Balog said.”We came up with the concept of dealing with our public real estate systems because many individuals had transportation and childcare barriers that kept them from accessing resources beyond Johnstown’s public housing.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath stated the program has actually helped people”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and job the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition provided to one authority yearly for especially improving the lives of its citizens, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in presence, as well as 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 championing the program, Linda Thomson said.