Internship Programs

Hands-on internships for Bay Area youth

About Our Internships

We offer paid, hands-on internships for youth through our two community shops: a bike shop and a boat shop. Our internships provide a safe, inclusive learning environment for youth to practice vocational skills and develop social and emotional skills, including curiosity, self-awareness, leadership, and problem-solving.

Youth are trained by Waterside’s supportive and caring staff members, gaining work experience that is applicable to a wide variety of careers in retail, customer service, and the trades. Upon completion of an internship, we support youth as they plan for independent employment and post-secondary education opportunities.

Street Level Cycles Internships

Street Level Cycles is our youth bicycle mechanics and bicycle reuse program. Interns learn professional bike repair by refurbishing used bicycles, which are redistributed back to the community as affordable, sustainable transportation. Youth also help community members fix their own bicycles in our free, do-it-yourself Open Shop workspace. Each year we refurbish, reuse, or recycle over 1,000 unwanted bicycles, and over 1,300 community members utilize our Open Shop.

Graduates of our bicycle education programs have found employment in mechanical repair trades, including in the bike and automotive industries.

VISIT STREET LEVEL CYCLES Internship Application

Berkeley Boathouse Internships

Berkeley Boathouse helps youth develop vocational skills in the areas of woodworking and construction, while providing a real-world application for product design, physics, and geometry. Youth interns regularly take the boats that they have built out on the Berkeley Aquatic Park, and they provide boat rentals to the general public.

Graduates of our boat program have found employment in the construction industry and in union training programs.

Visit Berkely Boathouse

Climate Action Pilot (CAP) Internships

Waterside Workshops’ Climate Action Pilot (CAP) Internship engages youth by growing fresh food, designing vibrant gardens, and preparing healthy meals while learning zero-waste tools to support climate action. Interns will gain hands-on skills in garden planning and campus landscaping while tackling food projects and reducing campus waste. Graduates will leave with practical multi-industry job skills, environmental stewardship experience, and the confidence to lead sustainability projects.

This program is supported by the generosity of the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Grant and in partnership with UC Botanical Gardens, Edible Schoolyard Project, Altamont EAB, and Ava Energy.

Internship Application