Sometimes the best way to get young people interested in learning is to give them something real to build.
Over two weeks, students at Wugularr School in Beswick swapped coffee machines for MIG welders as part of a practical welding micro-program connected to Wanta’s Brighter Futures Program and Jumbodi Café. The idea was simple: to give students who may not naturally gravitate towards the café’s cooking and coffee activities another way to get involved. Rather than making coffee, students could help create the furniture that would eventually be used in their own community café.
And they got stuck into it.
Across the two weeks, 17 students participated in the program, working with MelaPoly Building and Fabrication instructors Tupu and Michael (Fuzzy) to learn how to safely use welding equipment, grinders and other tools. Students measured, marked and checked dimensions, cut decking, tacked and welded steel, and worked together to bring their ideas to life.
By the end of the program, students had built two long benches, two low tables and six stools for Jumbodi Café.
But the furniture was only part of the story.
One of the biggest successes was seeing students who have traditionally been difficult to engage remain involved throughout the program. Two particularly disengaged students attended multiple days, with one remaining engaged for three of the four days during the second week.
For one student, seeing their name written on the stool they had completed was a particularly proud moment. Another gained enough confidence to begin offering advice to their peers and even re-threaded the MIG welder when the wire snapped, having learnt how to do it simply by watching.
The learning continued even after the welding equipment was packed away. At the end of the program, students completed a short workbook covering some of the skills they had developed. Despite returning to a more traditional classroom-style activity, students remained engaged, worked through the questions and demonstrated a strong understanding of what they had been doing.
While the micro-program was not formally accredited, students worked through practical elements aligned with Certificate I in Engineering Pathways, including safe work practices, hand and power tool use, engineering measurements, communication and completing a basic engineering project.
Most importantly, students had the opportunity to learn by doing.
The finished furniture is now part of Jumbodi Café, meaning students can see and use the results of their work every time the café opens. What started as a welding project has become another piece of the café that belongs to them.
The program also demonstrated the value of creating different pathways into learning. Not every student is interested in making coffee, but some are very interested in making the tables that customers sit at.
For Wanta’s Brighter Futures team, that is exactly the point.
Jumbodi Café is becoming more than a social enterprise; it is becoming a platform for students to explore different skills, build confidence, reconnect with school and discover things they are good at.
And judging by the students already asking what they can build next, this may not be the last time we fire up the welders in Wugularr!
Written by Dave Bell, Director Wanta Beswick Brighter Futures Program.
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