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 accomplice who went into a new phase of life Friday.

The ceremony 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 the previous four months, those registered in the program finished courses supplied by a collaboration amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses offered at Johnstown public housing neighborhood spaces to remove individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, employment along with expedition for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing business including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however decided out after discovering employment or other more 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, celebrates with graduates after getting her Certificate of Completion throughout 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 during the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, from delegated right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, 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 section of Johnstown, employment 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 participants 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 second mate have advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to individuals and graduated its first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts are scheduled, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director employment Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site Dick.”This was one of the finest ideas we have actually had for discovering quality employees for employers in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the concept of dealing with our public housing units due to the fact that many individuals had transport and childcare 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 said the program has helped individuals”

raise themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority every year for employment especially bettering the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from family and good friends in attendance, 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., employment and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were critical in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.