• Life long Learning
• Real Life Skills
• Increased independence
• Meaningful work experiences

The Compass Institute Inc / AMAI has been a leading provider of Alternative Education on the Sunshine Coast. Since 1992 it has provided behaviour management and enrichment programmes to over 7,000 students through its school-based programmes.

Compass Education and Training is a leading edge post-school service for young people with an intellectual disability. It commenced operation in 2003 and has two centres on the Sunshine Coast in Palmwoods and Caloundra.

There are three tiers available at these centres at present. These are the:

• Education Unit
• Training Unit
• Prevocational Unit
• Vocational Placements

Each unit supports up to 8 clients ensuring a highly personalised, family style approach.

The Education Unit offers educational content (50%) – numeracy / literacy, social skills, money skills, independent living), workplace training content (25%)
– workplace health & safety, workplace expectations, ethics, behaviours and outcomes and – aimed at developing meaningful participation in a wide range of existing community recreational networks.

The Training Unit offers workplace training content (50%) – community and centre-based work experience, workplace health & safety, workplace expectations,
ethics, behaviours and outcomes,  educational content (30%) – numeracy/literacy, social skills, money skills, independent living), and recreational training content (20%)– aimed at developing meaningful participation in a wide range of existing community recreational networks.

The Pre-vocational Unit offers workplace training content (75%) – community and centre-based work experience, supported and unsupported work placements,
workplace health & safety, workplace expectations, ethics, behaviours and outcome etc and independent living training / recreational training content (25%) – aimed at developing increased independence and meaningful participation in a wide range of existing community recreational networks.

Each unit or tier connects into the next, offering the clients a graduated, self-paced opportunity for transition based on their personal capacity and goals.

The fourth tier in this model is Vocational. There are several possible outcomes inherent in this tier and the young person could transition through these as their capacity grows.

• part-time supported placement with an existing workplace as Host - max 30 hours (support worker supplied)

• part-time unsupported placement with an existing workplace as Host - max 30 hours (no support worker)

• part-time or permanent employment with an Employer within an existing industry

• part-time or permanent training position or employment in a Compass Community Enterprise