Cdljobslinker

JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s second accomplice who went into a new phase of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a brand-new beginning for the graduates, who are set to look for further education or employment in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the past 4 months, those enrolled in the program completed courses supplied by a collaboration among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses offered at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to remove participants’ transport barriers.

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

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, but chose out after finding employment or other further education opportunities along the method.

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 throughout 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 area 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 (best), 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 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, commemorates 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, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, praises the graduates throughout 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 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 stated members of the program’s second friend have advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, employment emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to individuals and finished its very first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more mates are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director employment Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best ideas we’ve had for finding quality staff members for employers in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of dealing with our public real estate systems due to the fact that many individuals had transportation 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 stated the program has helped individuals”

lift themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and employment the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority annually for especially bettering the lives of its citizens, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and friends in attendance, along with Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President 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 said.