The next generation of airport employees in the CSRA may just come from area high schools.
A new internship is introducing high school students to a diverse number of career opportunities at Augusta Regional Airport.
Augusta Regional Airport (AGS) and the Richmond County Board of Education (RCBOE) have announced AIR EDU.
Lauren Smith, Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations, said the goal is to address a growing workforce shortage in operations, maintenance, air traffic controllers, and airport management. The forecast is that the industry will need more than two million new professionals over the next 20 years.
AGS has Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with the Richmond County and Burke County school districts to provide opportunities to learn about jobs at airports beyond the cockpit.
“In addition to formalizing our program, we’re now expanding the effort by offering an internship program for high school students across the area,” said Smith. “Through this opportunity, they are able to work on site at the airport and get that hands-on experience. We are hoping that by this endeavor, we are inspiring future careers and making an aviation industry-ready workforce.”
There are eight students in the first cohort for this internship. Students had to apply to join the program.
“These kids wanted internships in the area of aviation,” Dr. Stacey Mabray, Director of High School Programming & Workforce Development for the Richmond County School System (RCSS), explained for ABD. “We’re trying to get kids to see that in the aviation space, there’s a need for it. Sometimes kids don’t always see how things overlap. So, this is really a great partnership.”
RCSS Superintendent Dr. Malinda Cobb said the students will spend the next several months working alongside IT professionals at the airport to learn how to support real systems and solve real problems.
“They will apply what they’ve learned in the classroom. They’ll gain valuable experience and build confidence that comes from doing meaningful work in a professional setting,” she said. “In the Richmond County school system, we believe that readiness means more than just some technical skills. It means providing students with access to diverse, in-demand programs and real-world experiences that prepare them for what comes next, whether that’s enrollment, enlistment, employment, or entrepreneurship.”
Several of the students in this inaugural internship are enrolled at the Richmond County Career Technical Magnet School. They heard from a man who knows what they can achieve through this program. Korey Anderson, a 2019 graduate of the school, works in IT at the airport.
“AIR EDU isn’t about aviation. It’s about exposure. It’s about confidence. It’s about giving students real-world experience early enough to change the trajectory of their lives,” he told the students. “Programs like this tell students, ‘You belong here. This industry needs you.’ To the students participating in this program, take advantage of every moment. I promise you, showing up, staying consistent, believing, and being willing to learn will open doors you can’t even see yet.”
Smith said the interns will learn how an airport is a city within a city, with staffing needs not directly connected to aviation. She added that they started this program with eight students to determine its efficacy. If successful, it is possible that future cohorts for this internship will have more students participating.
