JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s second cohort who went into a brand-new phase of life Friday.

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

For 이지론 the past four months, those enrolled in the program finished courses supplied by a partnership amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

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

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, along with sightseeing tour for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based production business and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, but decided out after discovering employment or other further education opportunities along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, celebrates after getting 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 (ideal), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while getting their Certificate of Completion throughout the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, teachersconsultancy.com 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 section 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 section of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, 3, praises the graduates during 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 congratulates the individuals finishing 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 associate have progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or horizonsmaroc.com other location schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and finished its very first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more mates are set up, 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 very best concepts we have actually had for discovering quality employees for companies in the location,”Balog stated.”We came up with the concept of dealing with our public real estate units since many individuals had transportation and kid care barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public housing.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath stated the program has assisted people”

lift 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 best practice, a recognition offered to one authority every year for particularly improving the lives of its locals, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and pals in participation, along with 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 former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were critical in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.