Twenty high school students from across Washington, including a team from Kentridge High School, will compete in the State Finals Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition for thousands of dollars worth of scholarships and a chance to advance to the National Finals.

The state competition will be held at Renton Technical College, 3000 NE Fourth Ave., Automotive Quad (building K), from 10 to 11:30 a.m. May 6 with an awards ceremony directly following.

The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition is targeted to support students looking to jumpstart a career as an automotive service technician. The winning two-student team will advance to represent Washington state at the national finals at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, June 8-10.

Qualifiers will compete for scholarships, prizes, tools and an experience that could help shape the future of their careers.

Each two-student team in the State Finals competition will race each other and the clock to correctly identify and repair “bugs” installed in identical 2014 Ford Fiesta vehicles.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the prestigious event, as well as 30 years AAA has been involved in the Student Auto Skills competition; Ford Motor Company began its partnership with the competition 20 years ago.

Qualifying teams were selected based on their scores in the online exam which tests overall automotive knowledge. The team with the highest combined score from the hands-on competition and written exam will win. Competition winners, photos and team standings will be provided in follow-up release after the May 6 event.