Meet RochesterWorks: Helping Our City Build Meaningful Careers

RochesterWorks is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the Greater Rochester community by connecting people to opportunity and businesses to talent. Established in 2000, RochesterWorks operates the Monroe County-Rochester Workforce Development Board and serves as the fiscal agent for federal workforce funding provided to Monroe County through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

At the heart of our work is a commitment to helping people build meaningful careers while ensuring local businesses have access to the skilled talent they need to grow and succeed. RochesterWorks provides free employment, career development and training services to job seekers at every stage—from students and emerging professionals to parents, caregivers, veterans, entrepreneurs and experienced workers navigating a career change. For businesses, we provide workforce development, recruitment, training and employee-retention solutions for organizations ranging from start-ups and family-owned businesses to nonprofits and major regional employers.
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Our impact extends throughout Monroe County and the Greater Rochester community. In 2025 alone, RochesterWorks provided services to approximately 11,000 job seekers and worked with more than 400 local employers. Through individualized career advising, training opportunities, workshops, job fairs, targeted recruiting events and community-based services, we work to meet people where they are and connect them with the resources and opportunities they need to move forward.

RochesterWorks serves both sides of our local workforce—helping individuals build their careers while helping businesses find, develop and retain talent. Our services are designed to make it easier for people and employers to connect with the resources they need.

For job seekers, RochesterWorks offers individualized career advising, job-search assistance, career workshops, connections to training opportunities and grants, supportive services, disability and employment resources, and access to job fairs, recruiting events and our online job board. We also provide specialized programming for young people through the Rochester Youth Employment Network (RYEN), as well as services designed to help individuals facing barriers to employment successfully enter or return to the workforce.

For businesses and employers, RochesterWorks offers recruiting assistance, job fairs and customized hiring events, job-posting opportunities, and workforce development resources to help businesses recruit, train and retain employees. Depending on eligibility and available funding, businesses may also be able to take advantage of programs such as On-the-Job Training (OJT), Work Experience/Tryout opportunities, and Incumbent Worker Training grants, which can help offset some of the costs associated with hiring, training and developing employees. Our Business Services team works directly with employers—from small businesses to some of the region’s largest organizations—to understand their workforce challenges and identify solutions that fit their needs.
We are also expanding the ways people can access our services. Our Neighborhood Career Connector initiative brings RochesterWorks career services directly into trusted community locations, helping reduce barriers such as transportation, childcare and scheduling.
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And for individuals considering entrepreneurship or self-employment, RochesterWorks offers career exploration and workshops that can help them determine whether entrepreneurship is the right path and connect them with additional community resources and partners. This is one of the many areas where collaboration with organizations such as the Finger Lakes Small Business Development Center is so valuable—connecting aspiring entrepreneurs with specialized expertise and resources that can help them take the next steps toward starting and growing a business.

What makes RochesterWorks such a valuable community resource is our ability to connect the different pieces of the workforce system—job seekers, employers, education and training providers, community organizations and economic development partners—so that people can more easily find pathways to opportunity and businesses can access the talent they need.

Our services are free and designed to support people wherever they are in their career journey, whether they are entering the workforce for the first time, looking for a new job, changing careers, developing new skills or exploring entrepreneurship. At the same time, our ongoing relationships with hundreds of area employers give us insight into hiring needs and emerging skill gaps. That allows us to help create stronger connections between the skills people are developing and the opportunities available in our regional economy.

That role will become even stronger with the development of RochesterWorks’ new Comprehensive One-Stop Career Center at Monroe Community College’s Downtown Campus. Scheduled to open in fall 2027, the new center will bring career services, education and training opportunities, and connections to employers together in one coordinated location. The modern, accessible center will include space for individualized advising, workshops, recruitment events, employer interviews and larger community activities. Co-locating RochesterWorks with MCC will also create an even stronger feedback loop among job seekers, educators and employers—helping us more quickly identify workforce needs and connect people to in-demand career pathways.

Another important part of that future is New York State’s One Network for Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships (ON-RAMP) initiative. With MCC’s FWD Center serving as a regional ON-RAMP hub, RochesterWorks is working closely with MCC to connect community members—including individuals who have historically faced barriers to employment—with training and career opportunities in advanced manufacturing and other growing industries.

Just as importantly, RochesterWorks recognizes that no single organization can address every workforce, business or community need. Strong partnerships are central to how we work. Organizations such as the Finger Lakes Small Business Development Center bring specialized expertise that complements our own—particularly when job seekers are considering entrepreneurship or when local small businesses need resources beyond workforce development. By connecting people and businesses with the right partner at the right time, we can collectively provide a stronger network of support for our community.
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Ultimately, RochesterWorks is about more than helping someone find their next job. Our role is to help build a workforce system that is responsive to both people and businesses—one that helps individuals develop skills and build sustainable careers, gives employers access to talent and resources to grow their workforce, and strengthens the economic vitality of the Greater Rochester community.

To learn more about RochesterWorks visit: https://rochesterworks.org/