There are changes in the works for organizations that provide employment services in the Rochester area.
One of the main changes involves consolidating locations for these services, to make it easier for job seekers to get counseling and training.
Empire State Development has announced a $5.5 million investment toward the $14.5 million project.
That project involves the establishment of a new, comprehensive career center located at the downtown campus of Monroe Community College.
The Executive Director of the organization RochesterWorks, Dave Seeley, said that some of his agency’s services will eventually move to this new career center operation.
And he said the plan is to eventually have the New York State Dept. of Labor and other organizations be located there as well.
“There's duplication in the system throughout, and this allows us to utilize, hopefully, some existing MCC assets,” said Seeley. “But also, in partnering with the Department of Labor, there's no reason why we need multiple, duplicate classroom settings, duplicate resource rooms.”
In addition to the state funding, both SUNY and Monroe County has proposed $2.75 million in their respective capital projects plan.
There is also financial support for the project from the federal government, the William and Sheila Konar Foundation, and the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation.
MCC President DeAnna Burt-Nanna said in a statement that the co-location of the RochesterWorks career center at the college “further advances our mission of transforming lives and communities” through affordable and innovative academic, career, technical and workforce development programs.
Robert Reardon, the New York State Labor Commissioner called the new career center “a crucial investment in expanding access to job training and services for underserved populations.”
Seeley said that it’s likely the project will be completed sometime in 2026.
