JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates
The Johnstown Housing Authority's Employment and job Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program's second associate 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 seek additional education or employment in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.
For the previous 4 months, job those enrolled in the program completed courses provided by a partnership among Penn Highlands, job Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.
The program included courses offered at Johnstown public housing community rooms to get rid of individuals' transport barriers.
The curriculum included dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, along with sightseeing tour for job a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing business including Kitron and Compass Systems.
The ceremony Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, but opted out after discovering employment or other additional education opportunities along the method.
PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation
Bernice Sanders (ideal), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates 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.
Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates 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.
RJ Montague (ideal), of Johnstown, 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 event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, from left to right, job is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.
Marie Bradford, of the section 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 section of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, applauds 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 said members of the program's 2nd friend have advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to individuals and job finished its very first associate in June. After Friday's graduation, two more mates are arranged, Grimaldi stated. 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 ideas we've had for discovering quality employees for employers in the location,"Balog stated."We came up with the idea of working with our public housing systems because many individuals had transport 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 job Michael Horvath said the program has helped people"
raise themselves up and get them linked. "He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, a recognition offered to one authority every year for specifically bettering the lives of its residents, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family 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 workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.