Compass Institute founder David Dangerfield has dedicated his career to exploring and improving higher education and vocational opportunities for young people. Nowadays, those with a disability are his primary focus.

“I didn’t actually start out in this field, but it is funny how your life experiences tend to run full circle,” David said. “My first ‘career’ was as a Surveyor. I did a cadetship and worked for the Irrigation and Water Supply Commission. It was a real ‘boys own adventure’, out in remote areas, camping and working in the mud and the dirt. But I ultimately wanted to spend my days in something that was more fulfilling. 

“So I travelled to New Zealand, where I spent four and a half years studying and then working with people with intellectual and physical disabilities. It was there that I began to see the possibilities for people with a disability, beyond school and traditional support services. 

“On my return to Australia, I worked for a brief period for Endeavour Foundation in Toowoomba and then moved to the Sunshine Coast,” he said. 

In 1991, David set his sights on working with 18-23 year old people who had been long term unemployed. “At the time, I figured the best course of action was to start my own agency,” David said. “Our earliest contracts came from Government agencies and the TAFE. Our key focus was to reconnect these young people with their community and employment opportunities via bridging courses and apprenticeships. 

“It was extremely rewarding, but I was forever frustrated by what was really an ‘ambulance at the bottom of the cliff’ approach,” he said. “I wanted to intervene before young people became so disconnected.”

David went directly to schools to identify young people who were deemed at risk of dropping out. “It struck me that 8 out of 10 of them were boys,” David said. 

An avid martial arts practitioner, David based his program on Aikido.

“Aikido is an ancient practice that has its roots in the battlefields of Japan. It has not been converted to a combat sport and while there is danger in the training, there are so many profound life lessons inherent in these old school martial arts,” he said. 

“Our students learned to be mindful and responsible for their safety and actions, as well as the safety of others. 

“In our program, young boys learned about danger and risk, and that with these elements, they need to learn cooperation. It was incredibly gratifying to see our students extend and push themselves to mastery.” 

David’s programs were enormously successful. They ran for 15 years, and re-engaged and trained 7000 young people. 

“There was no Government funding for our training program, but again, I figured you can sit back and wait, or just move forward and trust that you are heading in the right direction.”

David was eventually approached by Special Schools to see if the program was available for students with disabilities who also demonstrated challenging behaviours.

“That was the point when I realised I had come full circle,” David said. 

In 2003, David started his own disability service and now works exclusively in this field. 

“I saw that beyond secondary school, there were still no further educational opportunities available to young people with a disability and very limited vocational options either,” he said. “This position would be intolerable for any other sector of our society and I wanted that to change.”

“It was time to challenge the long term implicit philosophy that a person with a disability could really only be assisted with welfare.”

Today, the Compass Institute has five centres between Caboolture and Gympie. One hundred and sixty young people are involved, 80 staff and around 20 volunteers. The 20 acre property in Palmwoods was purchased in 2010. 

It has around 10 working acres, a commercial grade kitchen and other facilities where young people are involved in a range of commercial activities including woodwork, growing fruit and vegetables and keeping chickens, and preparation of jams, pickles, chutneys and honey for sale. 

“I think I am proudest of the fact that Compass is a place that has now attracted an incredibly vibrant group of young people who want to work with us,” said David. 

“By very deliberate design, I have, with our dedicated leadership team, structured Compass with good pay, conditions and career opportunities. Across the board, I want people to value the sector. 

“And I want to help young people with disabilities develop to the point where they have a sense of personal value. Everyone here is a meaningful participant in what we are doing.”

“The name Compass Institute reflects the nature of the compass as a mapping tool. You can give someone a compass and map to show them the way, and they can also take the compass to create their own way. As it turns out, it is quite a pertinent throwback to my days in surveying.”