JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s 2nd mate who entered a brand-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 additional education or employment in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director .

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

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public housing community rooms to remove individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, as well as excursion for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, but pulled out after discovering work or other further education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, referall.us commemorates 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 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.

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 event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Looking on, from left to 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 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, praises the graduates during 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 congratulates the individuals finishing 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 stated members of the program’s 2nd friend have actually advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to individuals and graduated its very first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more associates are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the finest concepts we have actually had for discovering quality employees for companies in the area,”Balog said.”We came up with the idea of working with our public real estate systems because lots of individuals had transport 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 said the program has actually helped individuals”

raise themselves up and get them linked. “He congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, a recognition offered to one authority every year for particularly improving the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in participation, in addition to 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 former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were instrumental in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.