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 friend who entered a brand-new phase of life Friday.

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

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

The program included courses offered at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood spaces to eliminate individuals’ transportation barriers.

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

The event Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, but decided out after discovering employment or studentvolunteers.us other additional 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 event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section of Johnstown, celebrates 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 (best), 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. 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 area of Johnstown, [empty] 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 area of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, https://jobs.assist-staffing.com/ 3, applauds 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 participants finishing 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 fewa.hudutech.com of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s second cohort have progressed to further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to individuals and graduated its first cohort in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more accomplices are arranged, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site Dick.”This was among the finest ideas we’ve had for discovering quality workers for companies in the area,”Balog stated.”We created the idea of working with our public housing systems due to the fact that lots of people had transport and child care 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 people”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority each year for specifically bettering the lives of its citizens, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in presence, 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., decreases and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were instrumental in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.