JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and www.opad.biz Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s second cohort who went into a brand-new phase of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to seek more education or employment in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to get rid of participants‘ transportation barriers.

The curriculum consisted of conflict management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, along with school outing for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based production business of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, but decided out after discovering work or other additional education opportunities along the way.

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 during 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 getting 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, lakarjobbisverige.se 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 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, celebrates throughout 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, 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 praises the participants completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & 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 stated members of the program’s second cohort have progressed to further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and [empty] cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to individuals and graduated its very first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more accomplices are set up, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.“This was one of the very best concepts we’ve had for discovering quality employees for employers in the location,“Balog stated.“We created the concept of dealing with our public housing units since numerous people had transportation and childcare barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public housing.“ U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the program has actually assisted individuals“

raise themselves up and get them connected. „He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority each year for specifically improving the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household 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 office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were crucial in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.