Columbia County Fleet Services runs youth automotive competition, internships and occasional surplus auctions

Columbia County Fleet Services hosts an annual high-school automotive skills competition, runs an internship program for students and organizes a county surplus auction every few years, staff said in a county video.

“We started the high school automotive competition or CTAE event, yearly about 5 years ago,” said Anthony Deckert, shop manager. The competition has beginner, intermediate and advanced divisions covering parts and tool identification, basic repairs such as brake jobs and alignments, and time-limited diagnostic and repair challenges for more advanced students.

Deckert said local sponsors support the event and that students frequently leave the competition with improved skills and sometimes job opportunities at local businesses. “They usually walk out of here with some really good progress,” he said.

Jessica Wilson, operations manager, described the fleet internship program. “We currently have 4 interns,” she said, and she noted positions often turn over at the end of the school year; the department expects seasonal openings as students graduate. Wilson advised students in the pathway to demonstrate professionalism when applying.

Wilson also said Fleet Services hosts a Columbia County surplus auction of vehicles and equipment roughly every two to three years, offering county assets to the public and local buyers. For internship information, auction dates or other program questions, the department provided the email fleetservices@columbiacountyga.gov.

The program and outreach remarks were part of a county-produced informational segment recorded at the Appling fleet campus.