JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd mate who got in 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 work in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

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

The curriculum included conflict management, job search and [empty] interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, holisticrecruiters.uk and life skills management, as well as school trip for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, however pulled out after discovering employment or other more education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates after receiving her Certificate of Completion throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland [empty] Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates after getting her Certificate of Completion throughout the Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

RJ Montague (ideal), of Johnstown, linked web site 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, 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, celebrates throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, https://www.opad.biz/ of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, praises the graduates during 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 praises the participants finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout 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 stated members of the program’s 2nd associate have actually progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medication and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and jobs.constructionproject360.com graduated its first cohort in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts are set up, Grimaldi stated. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the best ideas we’ve had for finding quality staff members for employers in the location,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of dealing with our public housing systems due to the fact that lots of people had transport and kid care barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public real estate.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the program has actually helped individuals”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority yearly for especially bettering the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in presence, 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 office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and https://teachersconsultancy.com/ former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were critical in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.