Thousands turned out at Madison Square Garden Thursday for the Team Roc New York Job Fair. The fair was hosted rapper JAY-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation. 

“There are a lot of New Yorkers with a lot of passion a lot of skill sets and just haven’t had the opportunity to be matched with an array of employers — over 10,000 jobs available here today,” said Dania Diaz, the Team Roc managing director at Roc Nation.

“We’re hoping by the end of today there will be some incredible matches made.”

What You Need To Know

  • More than 60 companies sent recruiters to the job fair to hire for thousands of positions

  • Resources included resume building, grooming services, expungement aid and access to professional attire available to help formerly incarcerated people find employment

  • Job fair was a collaboration between rapper JAY-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation and REFORM Alliance, an organization focused on helping people out of the criminal justice system

They partnered with the organization REFORM Alliance. The organization focuses on helping people get out of the criminal justice system. 

While the event was open to the public, resources were available to specifically help people with a criminal past. 

“It’s really difficult to find employment if you have a felony on your record,” said Robert Rooks, CEO of REFORM Alliance. “It’s extremely difficult to get a job if you’re on probation and parole. When you have a felony you’re often locked out of opportunities. We need to make sure that people have the wraparound services that will help them be successful.”

It’s people like Ahib Paul they’re looking to really help strive. He is a 42-year-old man from Queens who showed up for the job fair.

“Unfortunately, I spent a lot of time in prison. When you’re coming out of prison there are barriers that stop you from getting certain jobs, housing,” said Ahib Paul. 

Paul is now starting his life over and hopes the fair leads to a permanent job.  

“I can take advantage of these opportunities that are here and provide for my family and be a better community member,” Paul said.

At Thursday’s event, there were recruiters from more than 60 high-profile companies. Among them, the National Football League (NFL), PUMA, Spotify, Union Square Hospitality Group, New York Yankees, Warner Music Group, JP Morgan, Tiffany & Co., SiriusXM/Pandora, Hot 97, Lowe’s, Madison Square Garden, Amazon, Foot Locker, Live Nation, VICE, 40/40 Club.

Between the employers, they were looking to fill thousands of positions. There were jobs of all levels, many were entry-level.

As part of the event, resources were available to help people get hired. Those resources included resume building support, interview preparation, grooming services, expungement aid, and access to professional attire. 

More than 5,000 people were expected to attend the event.