JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s second mate who got in a brand-new phase of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to look for jobs.constructionproject360.com more education or work in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the previous 4 months, those registered 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 real estate neighborhood rooms to remove participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum consisted of conflict management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, along with school trip for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing business consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however pulled out after finding work or other further education chances along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates after receiving her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland [empty] Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

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

RJ Montague (right), https://studentvolunteers.us/employer/localjobs of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Alberts (center) while receiving their Certificate of Completion during the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, https://sowjobs.com/employer/somalibidders/ 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, celebrates 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 event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi praises 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 stated members of the program’s 2nd friend have progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to participants and finished its very first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more mates are arranged, Grimaldi stated. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the best ideas we have actually had for finding quality employees for employers in the area,”Balog stated.”We came up with the concept of working with our public real estate units due to the fact that lots of people had transportation and child care barriers that kept them from accessing resources beyond Johnstown’s public housing.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the program has helped people”

lift 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 finest practice, an acknowledgment given to one authority annually for particularly improving the lives of its residents, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from family and pals 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 career.ltu.bg former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.