May 202 min read

BuildLACCD Paid Internship Program is Accepting Applications

Updated: May 21

The program reaches across sectors and positions are currently open to LACCD students.

Katherine OBrien Field, Copy Editor

Construction of BuildLACCD project's Academic Complex One, as viewed from the Allied Health and Sciences Center at Valley. (Milan Rafaelov for The Valley Star)

The Los Angeles Community College District’s $14.9 billion building program known as BuildLACCD, is aimed at modernizing its nine colleges and facilities through bond-funded projects and offers paid internships to qualified LACCD students and graduates.

While best known for construction work, BuildLACCD internships are not limited to construction or architectural jobs. Student interns are paid roughly $18 an hour and can work up to three hundred and twenty hours per semester.

2024 summer internships are open and have a rolling application with no deadline to apply. There is no GPA requirement.

“Right now we have 58 interns – including construction, construction management, engineering, design, accounting/finance, contracts, communications/marketing, sustainability, labor compliance and IT teams. Our interns are everywhere,” said Dr. Reuben Smith, Vice Chancellor/Chief Facilities Executive. “We can provide a career path. But students should be able to explore a career first, and not be forced to choose before they know what they really want to do.”

In a 2023 Gallup poll, it was found that 41 percent of college students secured internships and 32 percent of those that completed their internship successfully received job offers within the same company. Additionally, a prior poll indicated that students who participated in paid internships received twice as many job offers at graduation compared to those who undertook unpaid internships.

“My duties are to go to my assigned construction site, take photographs to track the construction progress, file the day’s report, and prepare for the site progress meeting, where we will discuss safety matters, what is causing progress to slow, and how we can fix any issues'' said current intern and civil engineering major at West Los Angeles College, Caleb Hill. Now in his third year, Hill has already completed four semesters as an intern. “You gain a clear-cut understanding of the construction process and you learn so much from the opportunities if you apply yourself.”