Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation

What Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation does

Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC) is the official Workforce Agency for the City of Detroit and a member of the Michigan Works Agency network under the State of Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. Founded in 2012 and headquartered at 115 Erskine St., Detroit, the organization serves a dual-sided market: Detroit residents seeking employment, training, and supportive services, and Detroit employers seeking talent acquisition, customized workforce training, and labor market intelligence. Cumulative reported outcomes include 4,718 jobs placed, 40,097 residents served through the Detroit at Work platform, 2,311 training completions, and a 33% increase in hourly wage among placed candidates since 2016.

DESC operates a platform-plus-services model built around its core product, the Detroit at Work digital platform, which acts as a centralized jobseeker portal connecting residents to job listings, training programs, and supportive services. The platform is augmented by a physical distribution network of nine career centers throughout Detroit, operated in partnership with community organizations including ACCESS, Southwest Solutions, SERCO, JVS Human Services, Goodwill Detroit, ROSS Innovative Employment Solutions, Payne School Pullian, Downriver Community Conference, and Development Centers. Supporting products include Business Services for employer recruitment, Customized Training programs, and a new Entrepreneurship Training Academy focused on Amazon Delivery Service Partner pathways.

The company's revenue model is structurally distinct from a commercial enterprise. DESC is funded primarily through public sector grants and allocations from the State of Michigan, the City of Detroit, and federal workforce development funds (such as WIOA), supplemented by philanthropic grants such as the $1 million Bank of America three-year grant received in March 2022 supporting 'The People Plan'. All services are provided free of charge to both jobseekers and employers; there is no transactional revenue from placement fees or employer subscriptions. The go-to-market motion is community-led via the career centers, direct outreach, and community partner referrals rather than sales-led. Reported employer relationships include Stellantis (4,100 Detroit residents hired for the Jeep Grand Cherokee L launch at the Detroit Assembly Complex - Mack plant) and Clearcover (customer experience group expansion).

Name

Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation

Legal name

Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation

Website

https://descmiworks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation is the official City of Detroit Workforce Agency operating the Detroit at Work platform and nine career centers to connect Detroit residents with jobs, training, and supportive services while serving employers with talent recruitment and customized training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Job Placement, Matching & Career Navigation Services (EDAAAOAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Employment & Job Readiness Support Services (BPAGAEAJ), Skilled Trades & Industrial Direct Hire (BPACAFAG), Skilled Trades (Electricians/Plumbers/HVAC/Carpenters) Staffing (BPACAEAB)

Keywords

• Workforce development services
• Job placement assistance
• Employment training programs
• Career center services
• Talent recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Detroit

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding and Grants: DESC operates as a public workforce agency funded primarily through government grants and allocations from the State of Michigan, City of Detroit, and federal workforce development funds. Revenue supports the Detroit at Work employment initiative and related workforce programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DESC operates the Detroit at Work platform and a network of nine career centers to connect Detroit residents with employment opportunities, job training, and supportive services. The agency also provides Business Services and Customized Training to help Detroit employers recruit, train, and develop local talent, serving as the official Workforce Agency for the City of Detroit within the Michigan Works Agency network.

Product overview

Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC) is the official Workforce Agency for the City of Detroit and a member of the Michigan Works Agency network. DESC operates as a workforce development organization offering a platform-plus-services model. The core platform is Detroit at Work, which serves as the primary jobseeker portal connecting residents to jobs, training, and supportive services. Supporting services include Business Services and Customized Training for employers. DESC also runs an Entrepreneurship Training Academy focused on Amazon Delivery Service Partner opportunities. Services are delivered through a network of nine Career Centers throughout Detroit. The organization connects thousands of Detroiters to employment opportunities annually, with measurable outcomes including job placements, training completions, and wage increases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Detroit at Work: DESC's jobseeker platform providing access to jobs, training, and other supportive services for Detroit residents.
• The People Plan

Products and services

• Detroit at Work

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,718 jobs placed
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ACCESScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer center partner helping maintain and manage career centers around Detroit
• Payne School PulliancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer center partner helping maintain and manage career centers around Detroit
• Southwest SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer center partner helping maintain and manage career centers around Detroit
• SERCOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer center partner helping maintain and manage career centers around Detroit
• ROSS Innovative Employment SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer center partner helping maintain and manage career centers around Detroit
• JVS Human ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer center partner helping maintain and manage career centers around Detroit
• Goodwill DetroitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer center partner helping maintain and manage career centers around Detroit
• Downriver Community ConferencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer center partner helping maintain and manage career centers around Detroit
• Development CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer center partner helping maintain and manage career centers around Detroit
• City of DetroitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDESC is the official Workforce Agency for the City of Detroit, with the city supporting workforce development initiatives through Detroit at Work
• Michigan Works AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDESC is a member of the Michigan Works Agency network, the statewide workforce development system supported by the State of Michigan, Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Express Employment Professionals: Express Employment Professionals is a franchised staffing firm placing industrial, office, and professional workers across Michigan including Detroit. It overlaps with DESC on commercial and light-industrial placement but is a private, fee-based model and does not serve the public-assistance jobseeker population as DESC does.
• Year Up: Year Up is a national workforce development nonprofit providing training and corporate placement for young adults from underserved communities. It overlaps with DESC on training completion, employer partnerships, and wage-outcome metrics, but focuses specifically on the 18-24 youth segment and corporate partnership model.

Others

• Detroit at Work (private-sector job platforms, e.g., CareerBuilder / Indeed): Indeed and similar job platforms are not direct competitors to DESC's full mission but are alternative channels Detroit jobseekers and employers use for matching. They represent the private-sector self-serve alternative DESC's Detroit at Work platform competes against for digital attention and employer job-posting spend.

Direct peers

• SERCO (Strategic Employment Resources & Community Outreach): SERCO is one of DESC's listed career center partners operating in Detroit, providing workforce development, training, and job placement services. It operates on a comparable mission and model and could also be a direct or partial substitute for DESC services in the same geography.
• Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) Human Services: JVS is a DESC career center partner providing workforce development, vocational rehabilitation, and career coaching in metro Detroit. It mirrors DESC's combination of training, placement, and supportive services for jobseekers facing employment barriers.
• Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit: Goodwill Detroit is both a DESC career center partner and an independent workforce development operator providing job training, placement, and supportive services to Detroit residents with barriers to employment. It overlaps directly with DESC's training and placement mission and competes for similar philanthropic and government funding.
• Michigan Works! Agency network (statewide): The Michigan Works! Agency network comprises regional Workforce Development Boards serving all Michigan counties with the same statutory workforce mandate DESC fulfills for Detroit. They share identical funding mechanisms (WIOA, state allocations), service lines (job placement, training, career centers), and employer-customer profiles, making them the closest functional peers at a different geographic scope.

Broad incumbents

• ManpowerGroup: ManpowerGroup is a global staffing and workforce solutions firm operating in Detroit with permanent placement, temp staffing, and workforce consulting capabilities. While DESC serves jobseekers for free via public funding, Manpower represents the private-sector incumbent serving employer hiring needs with a fee-based model in overlapping categories.
• Robert Half International: Robert Half is a major staffing and talent solutions firm with a Detroit presence serving professional, administrative, and finance hiring needs. Comparable to DESC in matching Detroit jobseekers to employers, but operates on a fee-based model with a private-sector employer focus.
• American Job Center network (USDOL): The American Job Center network is the federally funded nationwide system of workforce service centers; DESC is a proud partner of this network. They share the same underlying WIOA funding architecture, service offerings, and target populations, with DESC operating as the Detroit-area instance of this broader federal program.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/detroitatwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/detroit-employment-solutions-corporation
• Instagraminstagram.com/detroitatwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation