January 13th, 2022
A series of in-person job fairs in towns and villages kicks off January 19; other efforts include virtual job fairs, bi-monthly events at MCC and pop-up career services at libraries, community centers and community events.
County Executive Adam Bello today announced a coordinated and multi- layered effort to better connect Monroe County residents with job opportunities. The Monroe Job Opportunities Integrated Network (JOIN) will partner with RochesterWorks to diversify the ways employers engage with job seekers and make outreach more efficient through virtual and in-person career fairs and other innovative initiatives.
“Bringing job opportunities to people where they live is a common sense way to better connect employers and jobseekers,” said Monroe County Executive Adam Bello. “These countywide job fairs, hiring events and career services will help our local businesses and help our residents find quality, good-paying jobs as we work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Bello also announced that the county is spearheading a nine-county regional effort to secure funding under the $500 million Federal Good Jobs Challenge initiative, with a goal to transform the area’s efforts to provide career pathways for industries most in-demand for labor. Monroe County, with the support of RochesterWorks, is serving as the lead agency for the effort.
“As we look to rebuild and grow our economy, we must be more proactive in our efforts to connect residents with career pathways,” said David Seeley, executive director of RochesterWorks. “We welcome a sustained partnership with Monroe County, and look forward to bringing RochesterWorks’ many services into communities throughout the area. Working together, we will strive to create economic opportunity for all, and ensure our workforce meets the demands of the local economy.”
Neighborhood Job Fairs
Starting next week, RochesterWorks and Monroe County will increase the accessibility of job fairs with a series of on-site, in-person job fairs in towns and neighborhoods. These in-person events will allow job seekers to directly engage with employers to talk about available openings, learn more about how to apply and share their resumes with recruiters and hiring managers.
The first neighborhood job fairs takes place on Wednesday, January 19th, 2022 at the Henrietta Public Library (625 Calkins Road) from 10 a.m. to noon. Details can be found here. The Town of Webster will host from 10 a.m. to noon on March 16, 2022 at the Town Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Drive.
Virtual Job Fairs
To supplement in-person job fairs, RochesterWorks will host virtual job fairs. With financial support from the Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation, RochesterWorks engaged online virtual job and career fair platform Premier Virtual to hold events beginning in February, with the goal of holding at least 10 such events throughout 2022.
Virtual job fairs allow businesses and job seekers meet without the travel, expense, or social distancing concerns of in-person events. Participating businesses can create a “virtual booth” to share information about their organization including work culture, benefits and job openings, as well as video and/or social media links. Job seekers can create an online profile, share their skills and upload their resume.
MCC Downtown Events
Additionally, RochesterWorks will convene bi-monthly on-site job fairs starting Feb. 17 at the Monroe Community College (MCC) Downtown campus. These will be open to the general public, but are primarily aimed at engaging students, recent graduates and alumni in order to connect them with hiring employers.
Each job fair may include participation from approximately 30 businesses across multiple industries. The first MCC Job Fair is scheduled for Thursday, February 17th at the Downtown campus on State Street.
Pop-Up Career Services
RochesterWorks is developing a program to reach a wider audience of job seekers by providing one- on-one career services to residents in community centers, libraries and at local community events.
RochesterWorks existing services
As always, residents can use career advisory services provided free of charge by RochesterWorks at its primary Career Center at 100 College Avenue. Detailed information on the growing network of support services available through RochesterWorks can be found at rochesterworks.org/visit/faq. Appointments with a career advisor may be made calling (585) 258-3500..
Residents can continue to seek opportunities via the free RochesterWorks Job Board at https://jobboard.rochesterworks.org/#/home, which host thousands of postings annually from large and small businesses throughout the region.
