JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s second accomplice who entered a brand-new phase of life Friday.

The event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to seek further education or employment in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the previous 4 months, those registered in the program finished courses provided by a partnership amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and Small Amount Loan PA CareerLink.

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

The curriculum included conflict management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and rightlane.beparian.com Excel, and life skills management, https://horizonsmaroc.com/ in addition to field trips for a robotics bootcamp and tours 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 pulled out after finding work or other more education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, commemorates 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 area 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 (ideal), 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, 24-Hour Loan January 31, 2025. Searching, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and sowjobs.com JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, commemorates throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, HORNYOFFICEBABES.COM/ARCHIVE/MOVIES-HOMEMADE/ January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, praises 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 congratulates the individuals completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout a graduation ceremony 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 cohort have actually progressed to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its very first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more friends are set up, Grimaldi said. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best ideas we’ve had for discovering quality employees for employers in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of working with our public housing units because 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 assisted individuals”

raise themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD recognition as a finest practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority yearly for particularly improving the lives of its homeowners, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in attendance, as well as Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and [Redirect-302] representatives from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were instrumental in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.