A PROGRAM which uses activities like bike, small motor and boom box building to engage vulnerable students is taking off across the Redlands, Logan and Beaudesert.
Now in its fifth year, TRACTION has helped more than 800 students across the south-east and counting - including nearly 400 in the Redlands and more than 120 across Logan and the Scenic Rim.
The program takes in students between 12 and 15 years old and develops their skills, self-esteem and confidence while they work on practical projects.
These include building and restoring bikes, fixing and putting together small motors, learning about permaculture and growing produce, and constructing speakers from upcycled electronic waste.
Tim Wakeman, who helps to deliver and oversee the program in Logan and the Scenic Rim, said many students who took part were not realising their full potential in the classroom, were disengaged or had showed an interest in manual arts.
"We're working with the ones who are doing it tough," he said.
He said the program could lead to improvements in school attendance, behaviour and grades, effort, school completion rates, social and emotional development and wellbeing.
It also gave students a taste of the workplace, with the participants being responsible for their own projects and taking turns in filling leadership roles.
"It's a simulated workshop so they get experience in checking in and out, turning up on time and what it's like working in the real world," Mr Wakeman said.
Among this term's TRACTION students is a group from Beaudesert State High School who will take to the workshop every Tuesday to spend the day working on putting together and painting bikes.
One participant said he loved the hands-on nature of the program.
"We test rode (our bikes) and now we're taking them apart so they can fit in buckets," he said.
"We're going to scrape all the paint off them and paint them again, whatever colour we want. At the end, we get to race with our bikes and we keep them.
"It's pretty fun, I really like working here."
Mr Wakeman said the students had quickly formed bonds and had found a place of belonging in the workshop, as well as developing job-ready skills.
"They're all pretty good mates and they help each other out," he said.
He said local businesses and schools had also shown a lot of interest in TRACTION.
"It's great to see the community getting behind the program," Mr Wakeman said.
TRACTION has experienced rapid growth in the last five years, with plans to continue expanding as more schools get involved.
TRACTION runs programs at Kingston, Yarrabilba, Beaudesert, and Alexandra Hills, as well as Brisbane south. For more information visit traction.community.
