JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s second accomplice 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 seek more education or employment in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program included courses supplied at Johnstown public housing community spaces to get rid of participants’ transport barriers.

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

The event Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, however opted out after finding employment or other additional education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, celebrates after receiving her Certificate of Completion throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland employment Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates 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.

RJ Montague (right), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while receiving their Certificate of Completion throughout the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony 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, commemorates 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 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, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi praises the participants completing 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 said members of the program’s second accomplice have progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medication and cybersecurity. The program is at no charge to participants and finished its first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more mates are set up, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best concepts we have actually had for discovering quality staff members for employers in the area,”Balog stated.”We created the concept of dealing with our public housing systems since lots of people 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 stated the program has helped individuals”

raise themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority yearly for specifically bettering the lives of its homeowners, employment Alberts said. 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 Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and employment previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.