JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s second associate who entered a new stage of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to look for further education or work in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood spaces to get rid of individuals’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, employment task search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, along with school trip for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, however pulled out after finding employment or other further education opportunities along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (ideal), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, celebrates 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.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), employment of the Dale section of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates 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, 2025.

RJ Montague (right), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while receiving 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, employment 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 ceremony 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi praises the individuals completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout 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 cohort have advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to participants and graduated its first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more mates are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the finest ideas we have actually had for discovering quality staff members for companies in the location,”Balog said.”We created the concept of working with our public housing systems because lots of people 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 said the program has helped people”

raise themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD recognition as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority yearly for especially improving the lives of its homeowners, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in participation, along with Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Amy Bradley and representatives from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.