New facility located on Rochester Community and Technical College campus

ST. PAUL -- The new Rochester WorkForce Center held a grand opening celebration today at its new location at Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC). Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben, RCTC President Leslie McClellon and other local leaders welcomed job seekers into the new location.

Minnesota WorkForce Centers provide free support for job seekers, help businesses find workers, and help anyone at any stage explore and plan careers. Locating a WorkForce Center in Minnesota technical colleges ensures a connection with Minnesota's pipeline of workers and available jobs.

"Minnesota's continued economic recovery depends on our ability to connect employers with the qualified workers they need," said Governor Mark Dayton, who in 2011 signed a Jobs Bill providing the state investments necessary to build the new WorkForce Center. "This WorkForce Center is an important part of that effort. It will help match the skills and aspirations of Minnesota workers, with the jobs of today and tomorrow."

"The new Rochester WorkForce Center building, located on the campus of Rochester Community and Technical College, is our seventh WorkForce Center that is co-located with a MnSCU institution," said Commissioner Sieben. "With this new facility, the critical forces are aligned to ensure targeted skills development to meet business needs in the southeast region."

There are nearly 50 Minnesota WorkForce Centers statewide that provide free essential services to job seekers. The full list of WorkForce Centers can be found here. WorkForce Centers served nearly 231,000 customers, both in person and online, in 2013; held 8,500 workshops; and served more than 15,000 veterans.

"At RCTC, our mission is to educate the workforce of southeast Minnesota," said President McClellon. "By locating a DEED WorkForce Center on our campus, we are enhancing our partnership with DEED in ways that benefit workers and employers, as well as our own students, faculty and staff. We are very pleased to be working with DEED and look forward to finding other innovative ways to meet the workforce needs of our region."