By Mike Fossano

Job seekers will have the chance to meet with dozens of metro Detroit employers tomorrow at the Oakland Job Hub 2012.

The job fair will be held at the Oakland University Oakland Center, 2200 N. Squirrel Road in Rochester, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Entry is free for candidates.

Participating communities include Auburn Hills, Farmington Hills, Madison Heights, Novi, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Southfield and Troy, as well as Oakland County Michigan Works, Oakland Community College, Lawrence Technological University and host sponsor, Oakland University. Fair participants do not need to be based in the participating cities, nor do employers.

Billed as the place “Where Oakland Employers Meet Southeast Michigan Job Seekers,” 82 Oakland County-based employers will participate in the event, with over 2,000 high-tech and professional positions available in engineering, information technology, financial services, accounting and sales.

According to Laurie Johnson, economic development coordinator for the city of Auburn Hills, this year’s event comes on the heels of a successful inaugural event in 2011, which was borne out of the need for rebounding employers to kickstart rehiring efforts.

“While the restructuring of many businesses forced the concept of “doing more with less,” positive changes in Michigan’s economic climate are requiring companies to ramp up to get new purchase orders filled on a timely basis.” Johnson said.

“With the outpouring of interest from businesses again this year, we have had to turn companies away because of available space.”

Ara Topouzian, economic development director for the city of Novi, said that it’s imperative that companies find properly equipped employees in order for our local economy to grow.

“In general, businesses in Novi are hiring because they are seeing economic growth and have hundreds of positions that need to be filled,” Topouzian said.

“It’s my opinion that job fairs offer better connections for employers due to the face-to-face time.”

Last year’s event highlighted economic development between both Oakland and Macomb counties and drew over 1,500 job seekers and 75 companies. Tomorrow’s event is solely for Oakland County businesses, however.

Professional dress is strongly encouraged. There is no fee for candidates to attend, but it is recommended that they register at www.mijobhub.com.