JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

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

The event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a new start for the graduates, who are set to look for more education or work in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program included courses offered at Johnstown public housing community rooms to eliminate participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, task search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, along with sightseeing tour for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production business consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, however opted out after finding work or other further education chances along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (ideal), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates 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, celebrates with graduates after receiving her 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 (right), 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, jobsdirect.lk 2025. Looking on, from left to 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 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, 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
[email protected]!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi said members of the program’s second cohort have advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and finished its first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, MATURE OFFICE PORN & SEX PICTURES 2 more associates 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 very best ideas we’ve had for finding quality workers for employers in the location,”Balog stated.”We created the idea of working with our public housing units because lots of people had transport and child care 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 said the program has actually helped people”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has made HUD recognition as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority yearly for linked web site particularly bettering the lives of its homeowners, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and friends in participation, as well as Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.