JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates
The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s second friend who got in a 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 work in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.
For the previous 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 consisted of courses provided at Johnstown public housing neighborhood rooms to eliminate participants’ transport barriers.
The curriculum consisted of conflict management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, employment and employment life skills management, along with excursion for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based production business including Kitron and Compass Systems.
The ceremony Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however pulled out after finding employment or employment other more education chances along the way.
PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation
Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates 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 area of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates after getting her Certificate 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 receiving their Certificate of Completion throughout the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, employment 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, employment of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, commemorates 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 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 Employment & Training Program during a graduation event 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 stated members of the program’s 2nd cohort have actually advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and finished its very first cohort in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more friends are scheduled, Grimaldi said. The was started by previous JARI Workforce Development Director employment Debra Balog and
PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the best ideas we’ve had for discovering quality workers for employers in the location,”Balog said.”We created the idea of dealing with our public housing systems since 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 assisted people”
lift themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition provided to one authority each year for especially improving the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in presence, in addition to 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, employment JARI President Linda Thomson stated.
