JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s second associate who entered a brand-new phase of life Friday.

The event 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 area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to eliminate participants’ transport barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, in addition to school trip for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, however pulled out after discovering work or other additional education opportunities along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, celebrates after receiving 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, celebrates 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 (ideal), job of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while getting 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 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 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 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 second friend 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 offered at no charge to individuals and finished its very first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more accomplices are set up, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the finest concepts we’ve had for finding quality staff members for companies in the location,”Balog said.”We came up with the idea of working with our public real estate units since many individuals had transport and child care barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public housing.” U.S. Department of Housing and Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath stated the program has helped individuals”

lift themselves up and get them linked. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD recognition as a best practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority annually for specifically improving the lives of its citizens, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from family and buddies in participation, as well as 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., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.