RochesterWorks! workshops helped nearly 300 locally displaced workers when Wegmans Food Markets Inc. and PetSmart Inc. downsized portions of their local operations.

Several workshops including Dealing with Change, Job Search 101, and Ace Your Interview were held at the employer sites helping to make transitions easier.

Nearly 200 people who were losing their jobs at PetSmart in Brockport attended  RochesterWorks! workshops.

PetSmart contacted RochesterWorks! in March to deliver employer site workshops that would complement the services PetSmart contracted through a national outplacement services group.

The workshops conducted between April and August were all held on-site but PetSmart also encouraged associates to attend workshops at RochesterWorks! Career Centers.

RochesterWorks! also coordinated an on-site career fair for PetSmart employees. Participating companies included Wegmans, Washington Mutual Inc., Concentrix Corp., and Sutherland Global Services Inc.

Company officials said it gave associates the opportunity to meet directly with a variety of potential employers during working hours and in one central location.

Teaming up with RochesterWorks! demonstrated PetSmart's commitment to helping their employees as well as creating an awareness for local job opportunities. Officials said several associates received calls from Wegmans for interviews.

Several months earlier, Wegmans was experiencing change at its meat center and egg farm in Wolcott. 

Wegmans outsourced the cutting of meat to a meat processing center and the move affected over 100 employees.

Wegmans created opportunities for as many of these people as possible, in order to keep them with the company.  The company knew that the change in work or schedules or both would be a challenge, says Hannah Morgan, RochesterWorks! Career Services Advisor, Workshop Specialist.

Many employees had been with the company for 20 years and most had never had to look for a job.

Although Wegmans was able to transfer a large percentage of employees to other parts of the company, the local grocer also conducted RochesterWorks! workshops through the transition, Morgan says.

The Dealing with Change workshop helped participants understand why change will happen and better yet, what they can do to adjust, Morgan says. Over the course of several months, more than 50 employees attended the workshop.

Wegmans and RochesterWorks! recently teamed up to offer the same workshop when more than 40 employees at Wegmans Egg Farm were losing their jobs because the farm was being sold. Management was not sure what the farm's new owner had in mind for the farm or the employees, so Wegmans proactively offered the course, Morgan says.

RochesterWorks! is dedicated to supporting the needs of all job seekers and will continue to deliver high quality, up to date information to provide customers with the competitive advantage they will need to secure their next opportunity.

For more information on RochesterWorks! workshops, please visit www.rochesterworks.org and select workshops for adult job seekers.