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JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates
The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s 2nd accomplice who went into a 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 registered in the program completed courses offered by a partnership among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.
The program consisted of courses provided at Johnstown public housing community rooms to eliminate participants’ transport barriers.
The curriculum included conflict management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, as well as excursion for a robotics bootcamp and job trips of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.
The event Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, but decided out after discovering employment or other more education chances along the way.
PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation
Bernice Sanders (ideal), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, celebrates after receiving 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, commemorates with graduates after receiving 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 (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 section 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 area of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, 3, applauds 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 said members of the program’s 2nd mate have progressed to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to individuals and finished its first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more associates are scheduled, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and
PA CareerLink Cambria County site Dick.”This was among the very best concepts we have actually had for finding quality workers for employers in the location,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of working with our public housing units due to the fact that many individuals had transport and childcare 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 assisted people”
raise themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and job the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority annually for job particularly improving the lives of its locals, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and job family in presence, 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 former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were instrumental in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.