Recyclery Bike Shop Internship Program
The Re-Cyclery Bike Shop Paid Internship Program is a six-month workforce development opportunity for youth ages 15–18 interested in gaining job readiness skills, hands-on experience, and earning their own income.
Interns receive training in customer service, bike mechanics, and small business operations. Guided by experienced shop staff, youth progress through structured lessons that build workforce skills applicable not only to bike shops but also to a variety of retail and service jobs. The program follows the California Department of Education’s Work Experience Education (WEE) model, combining real-world job experience with classroom instruction to enhance learning.
The first phase emphasizes essential “soft skills” such as motivation, time management, perseverance, and self-regulation—key traits for college and career success. Interns also build practical knowledge in interview prep, financial literacy, workplace safety, employee rights, and business basics, including how to fill out a timesheet and understand payroll deductions. Toward the end of the internship, the focus shifts to career planning and goal setting.
Through hands-on work in the bike shop, students also develop valuable “hard skills” while gaining social-emotional competencies like relationship-building and social awareness in a supportive, real-world environment.
Re-Cyclery Interns Will Learn:
Interns receive training in customer service, bike mechanics, and small business operations. Guided by experienced shop staff, youth progress through structured lessons that build workforce skills applicable not only to bike shops but also to a variety of retail and service jobs. The program follows the California Department of Education’s Work Experience Education (WEE) model, combining real-world job experience with classroom instruction to enhance learning.
The first phase emphasizes essential “soft skills” such as motivation, time management, perseverance, and self-regulation—key traits for college and career success. Interns also build practical knowledge in interview prep, financial literacy, workplace safety, employee rights, and business basics, including how to fill out a timesheet and understand payroll deductions. Toward the end of the internship, the focus shifts to career planning and goal setting.
Through hands-on work in the bike shop, students also develop valuable “hard skills” while gaining social-emotional competencies like relationship-building and social awareness in a supportive, real-world environment.
Re-Cyclery Interns Will Learn:
- Team building and professional communication skills
- Sales techniques and customer service skills
- Basic bike mechanic skills such as tire and inner tube changes and bike safety assessment and adjustments
- How to process donations of bikes and bike gear
- The process of arranging bike part sales on eBay.
- Research and analysis (related to products and marketing)
- The basics of business operations: daily sales reconciliations, marketing, and project management
- Critical thinking skills
- Leadership skills