JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s second associate who got in a new phase of life Friday.

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

For the previous 4 months, those registered in the program completed courses provided by a partnership among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program consisted of courses supplied at Johnstown public housing community spaces to eliminate individuals’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included conflict management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, in addition to expedition for a robotics bootcamp and job tours of technology-based production business including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, but pulled out after discovering work or other additional education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, celebrates after receiving her Certificate of Completion throughout 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 section of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates after receiving her Certificate of Completion throughout 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 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, job 2025. Searching, from left to right, job is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, celebrates 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 section of Johnstown, with her child 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 participants finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority & Training Program during 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 advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency medication and job cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to individuals and finished its very first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts are arranged, 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 best concepts we’ve had for discovering quality workers for companies in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of working with our public housing units due to the fact that lots of people 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 stated the program has actually helped individuals”

raise 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, a recognition provided to one authority each year for specifically bettering the lives of its homeowners, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from family and friends in participation, along with 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 job previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.