BUILDING THE SKILLED TRADES. EMPOWERING LIVES.
About Ascend
Ascend Workforce Solutions is a nonprofit organization advancing workforce and economic empowerment through hands-on training, wraparound supports, and community-centered design. We prepare individuals not just for jobs, but for lives of purpose, leadership, and long-term contribution.
By integrating childcare, coaching, transportation, and credentialed training, Ascend helps close skill and access gaps in high-demand industries. Our partnerships with employers ensure inclusive pipelines to living-wage careers, while our place-based model co-locates training within broader community and economic development projects—generating ripple effects that strengthen families and neighborhoods for generations.
Our Mission
We believe the dignity of work can transform a life — and a community.
Ascend builds pathways to economic mobility through careers in construction. By embedding training hubs in neighborhood revitalization efforts and designing employer-driven programs, we connect people to meaningful work and strengthen the communities they call home. We believe the dignity of work can transform not just individuals, but entire regions—and we're here to make that transformation real.
Our Vision
When people rise, communities rise with them.
We envision a future where every person has access to the support, skills, and opportunities needed to thrive in a career that builds both lives and cities. Ascend is leading a new model of workforce development — one that is inclusive, place-based, and rooted in the belief that economic growth begins with investing in human potential.
Training Designed for Success
A Framework Built for Immediate Impact
At Ascend, we don't train for the sake of training. We co-create dynamic, responsive programs with employers to meet the real-world demands of the job site and workforce. Our approach is hands-on, data-informed, and outcomes-driven—ensuring that workers are equipped with relevant skills they can apply immediately, and employers see real returns in productivity, safety, and retention.
Co-Creation with Employers
- Every program is built in partnership with industry leaders and jobsite supervisors.
- Training content reflects current job requirements, safety standards, and equipment protocols.
- Employer input is used to identify the most critical skill gaps and shape curricula that close them.
Real-Time Skill Acquisition
- Training modules emphasize what workers need today, not just what they might need later.
- Immediate on-the-job application is built into every session.
- Curriculum includes technical skill-building, communication, collaboration, and safety protocols.condition.
Built-in Support for Completion and Retention
- Wraparound services like transportation, childcare, coaching, and stipends remove participation barriers.
- 100% of our 91 participants in our first year of programming completed training, a testament to both the model's relevance and our supportive infrastructure.
Upskilling and Onboarding
- Programs serve both incumbent workers and new hires, creating pathways for advancement and smoother onboarding.
- Employers have funded training in full, reflecting trust in the value and outcomes of the model.
A Framework Built for Immediate Impact
Ascends' model isn’t a one-size-fits-all program. It's a responsive workforce development engine that delivers measurable, immediate, and long-term outcomes for both people and employers. We build programs that work—because we build them with the people who use them.
Featured Projects
Bulls Head Empowerment Center
Bulls Head Empowerment Center
Bulls Head Empowerment Center
In the heart of Rochester’s Bulls Head neighborhood, Ascend is turning revitalization into a launchpad for economic mobility.
By embedding a training hub directly within one of the city’s largest redevelopment zones, we’re creating a pipeline from neighborhood to job site—connecting local residents to in-demand careers in construction an
In the heart of Rochester’s Bulls Head neighborhood, Ascend is turning revitalization into a launchpad for economic mobility.
By embedding a training hub directly within one of the city’s largest redevelopment zones, we’re creating a pipeline from neighborhood to job site—connecting local residents to in-demand careers in construction and building a workforce that reflects the community itself.
Bulls Head exemplifies how workforce systems can be reimagined as engines of equity and renewal.
Living Curriculum
Bulls Head Empowerment Center
Bulls Head Empowerment Center
This summer, Ascend is launching a dynamic, hands-on workforce pathway for 9th–12th grade students—fully embedded into their daily school curriculum.
Designed as a living curriculum that evolves with the needs of active construction projects, this program bridges classroom learning with real-world application in the skilled trades. It’s
This summer, Ascend is launching a dynamic, hands-on workforce pathway for 9th–12th grade students—fully embedded into their daily school curriculum.
Designed as a living curriculum that evolves with the needs of active construction projects, this program bridges classroom learning with real-world application in the skilled trades. It’s more than a class—it’s a workforce experience in motion.
This flexible, project-driven model can be replicated with both nonprofit and for-profit partners looking to equip young people with meaningful skills and direct access to opportunity.
SouthWorks Ithaca
Bulls Head Empowerment Center
SouthWorks Ithaca
At SouthWorks, Ascend is anchoring a long-term vision for inclusive growth in Ithaca. Set within a 10-year redevelopment of a historic industrial facility, this site will evolve into a state-of-the-art hub for workforce training, green construction, and innovation.
As the physical landscape transforms, so do the lives of those gaining acc
At SouthWorks, Ascend is anchoring a long-term vision for inclusive growth in Ithaca. Set within a 10-year redevelopment of a historic industrial facility, this site will evolve into a state-of-the-art hub for workforce training, green construction, and innovation.
As the physical landscape transforms, so do the lives of those gaining access to high-quality careers in the skilled trades. SouthWorks is a model for how place-based investment and talent development can shape a resilient, future-ready regional economy.