COVINGTON, Ga. - Local residents will have the opportunity to get in front of more than employers at the second annual job fair at Geor­gia Piedmont Technical College Oct. 5.

“Just like last year, it will be an all-day event,” Serra P. Hall, senior proj­ect manager for the Cov­ington/Newton County Office of Economic De­velopment, said. Unlike last year’s event, howev­er, this year’s promises to be a full-service day with professional class­es, company spotlights, relocation assistance and food vendors on site.

“We felt when people were coming to the job fair and spending time to meet the vendors and networking with their peers, there was some­thing missing,” she said. “We really felt we could go one step further and offer a few classes that are free and you can spend the day with us.”

Hall said the schedule of classes will be released at a later date.

“I think it is really ex­citing that in our part­nership with GPTC, we’re able to utilize some of their staff members and really have their skills for our participants of the job fair,” she said.

This year a dedicat­ed room for company highlights will allow job seekers the opportunity to learn more informa­tion about the companies they are applying for.

“We wanted to give a chance to companies that wanted to take a little bit of an extra moment to share more about their company, rather than just being on the floor and getting a quick idea of who they were, this will be a chance for them to get a little deeper and more engaged with a po­tential employee,” Hall said. “It allows them to share their story a little better.”

There will be 10 slots for companies in the highlight room through­out the day. Vendor ap­plications for the high­light room and the job fair are available online at http://www.selectnew­ton.com/2018-job-fair.

To make the event more full-service for the participants, the ED of­fice has partnered with Chick-fil-A to provide food at the event.

Hall said last year’s event brought job seek­ers from outside the area – including out-of-state visitors – and this year’s event guarantees to pro­vide relocation informa­tion for anyone seeking to move to the area.

“If we really want to make this job fair real­ly full-service for these participants, we need to make it where you can not only find an amaz­ing job, but you can find an amazing place to live as well and we can pro­vide you with the tools you need to start your new life here in Newton County,” she said.

Last year’s job fair brought more than 50 companies and Hall said the number is expected to be similar this year. First priorities will go to our local industrial, manufacturing, film and entertainment, bio-phar­ma, high-technology and distribution companies.