Students at Wadja Wadja High School in Central Queensland now have greater access to vocational education following the opening of new training facilities in the Indigenous community of Woorabinda.

The independent school, located about 170 kilometres south-west of Rockhampton, has opened a café, hair salon and recreation facility to provide students with practical learning opportunities closer to home.

The facilities will support the school's vocational education and training (VET) program, allowing senior students to complete certificate qualifications while working towards their Year 12 graduation.

For the school's approximately 110 students, the new spaces offer opportunities to develop skills that could lead to employment within their own community.

Principal Cherie Blinco told ABC Capricornia the facilities were developed with the needs of Woorabinda in mind.

"These spaces are about much more than training; they are about creating opportunities for our young people here in Woorabinda, building confidence and employment skills," Blinco said.

The project is particularly significant for a community of approximately 1,000 residents, where access to businesses and services is limited.

Woorabinda has only a small number of shops, with residents previously needing to travel about 40 kilometres to purchase a café-style coffee.

The new café features equipment for preparing drinks and serving customers, while the salon has been fitted with wash basins, mirrors and hairdressing equipment.

The school's approach to vocational education was originally proposed by retired principal Hector Costello, who worked in an advisory capacity at Wadja Wadja in 2019.

Costello believed practical learning opportunities would better suit the needs and interests of most students.

"In VET you can achieve much more tangible things and it's got much greater real-life applicability for students here," he told ABC Capricornia.

Blinco said the introduction of vocational training had already contributed to a significant improvement in school attendance over recent months.

"It gives them a purpose to come to school ... learning something that they can use within their community and it means that they don't have to leave to get that education," she said.

Kuku Yalanji student Juu'garr Bamboo, who is currently in Year 10, has enrolled in the program and has already started developing her hairdressing and customer service skills.

"We've just been practising hairstyles and how to start a conversation with some of the locals here in Woorabinda," she told ABC Capricornia.

The school recently celebrated the official opening of the facilities, with community members invited to see the new spaces.

Students had already been operating the café on a trial basis during Term 3.