BIDDEFORD — Connor greased the chain, while Matt taped the handle bars. On the other side of the room, Devyn and Josh worked on another bicycle, and in the parking lot, Kyle updated the group’s inventory. 

The five Biddeford High School students worked diligently Wednesday afternoon, as they readied more than 50 bicycles for the Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s Great Maine Bike Swap in Portland on April 26.

For the last month and a half, Connor Oliver, Matt Perkins, Devyn Hibbard, Josh Butts and Kyle Ricker have been collecting and reconditioning used bicycles to sell through outlets like the bike swap, and on eBay and Craigslist. The five teenagers are part of the Community Bicycle Center’s Kids Bike Factory ­”“ a job-readiness program the Granite Street nonprofit launched on March 1 to give local 14- to 18-year-olds firsthand business experience.

“The whole concept is they’re building a bike business,” Carol Meader, the CBC’s development and communications director, said Wednesday. “They have to find bikes, repair the bikes and then sell the bikes.”

Meader said the program is being funded through the Maine Community Foundation’s York County Fund. Additionally, she said the money raised through the program’s bicycle sales will help keep it running in the future.

Although the program is bike-centric, Meader said the Kids Bike Factory is about a lot more than just bicycles ”“ it’s about how to run a business, how to market and sell a product, how to work well with others.  

“They’re going to be learning financial literacy,” CBC Executive Director Andy Greif said of the program’s participants Wednesday. He also pointed to the “soft skills,” such as the ability to communicate effectively, that they’ll learn through the Kids Bike Factory.

Although the program is the first of its kind for the CBC, it’s not unfamiliar ground for the center, whose purpose since 2005 has been to help children build life skills through bicycles.

“We’re a youth development program. We just happen to do it through bikes,” said Greif. “It’s our vehicle for working with kids.”

As part of the program, Jim Shiminski, a principal partner at West Kennebunk-based DAC Sales, has been leading weekly, 30-minute business classes for the students, Andrew Burnell, the CBC’s program director, said Wednesday.

Just a quarter of the way through the 26-week program, the five teenagers ”“ who all had to apply and interview for their positions ”“ said it’s already taught them a lot.

“It’s a really good program. I’ve learned a lot,” said Ricker, 15, adding that he can’t even walk into a Dunkin Donuts now without thinking about business terms like profit and loss.

“I’ve learned a lot about inventory and budgeting,” said Perkins, 15. “Before this I had no idea what any of that was.”

Similarly, Oliver, 16, said before the program started, he had no business knowledge whatsoever ”“ but that’s not the case anymore. “We’ve been learning about how to prioritize time, about all the small things you need to know to start a business,” he said.

“Teamwork skills ”“ that’s a big one,” said Butts, 17, when asked what he’s learned from the program. And in the same vein, Hibbard, 16, said he’s learned to “actually ask for help from other people.”

Although the students will be receiving small stipends for their work, Greif clarified the program is not intended to be a job. “It’s not a job, it’s a job-readiness program,” he said.

Like the CBC as a whole, the program aims to prepare students for jobs to come, and perhaps allow them to discover their passion in life, or as Greif puts it, “ignite their spark.”

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].