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 entered 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 further education or employment in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.
For the previous 4 months, those enrolled in the program finished courses offered by a partnership among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.
The program included courses provided at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to get rid of participants’ transportation barriers.
The curriculum included dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, in addition to excursion for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.
The ceremony Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however pulled out after finding work or other further education opportunities along the way.
PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation
Bernice Sanders (ideal), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, employment celebrates after getting 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 section of Johnstown, employment celebrates with graduates 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.
RJ Montague (ideal), of Johnstown, employment shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while receiving their Certificate of Completion during the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Looking on, 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, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, with her daughter 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 completing 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 Development Dave Grimaldi said members of the program’s second mate have actually progressed to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its very first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more associates are scheduled, Grimaldi stated. The program was started 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 have actually had for discovering quality workers for employers in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the idea of dealing with our public housing units since many individuals had transportation and child care 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 helped individuals”
lift themselves up and get them linked. “He congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority yearly for especially bettering the lives of its locals, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and pals in attendance, along with 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 previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.
