JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd associate who got in a new stage of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a brand-new start 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 past 4 months, those registered 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 get rid of participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, task search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and employment life abilities management, in addition to school trip for a robotics bootcamp and employment trips of technology-based production companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, but decided out after discovering work or other more education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, commemorates 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.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates after receiving her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland employment Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

RJ Montague (best), 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 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 area of Johnstown, commemorates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, employment January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, with her daughter 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, employment January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates 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 2nd mate have actually advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, employment emergency situation medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and finished its first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more mates are set up, Grimaldi said. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the best concepts we’ve had for finding quality workers for employers in the area,”Balog stated.”We came up with the idea of dealing with our public real estate systems due to the fact that lots of people had transportation 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 said the program has helped individuals”

lift themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD recognition as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority every year for employment specifically improving the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and friends in attendance, in addition to Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were instrumental in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.