Becoming A Driving Instructor

Don't Get Done, Get Dom BBC: RED Driving School Driving Instructor Training Courses

2010-05-31T04:24:00.000-07:00

BBC investigative journalist Dominic Littlewood highlights the sizeable number of people who are unhappy with RED Instructor Training (the driving instructor training "arm" of RED Driving School).

In his show "Don't Get Done, Get Dom" aired on BBC1 on 31st May 2010, Littlewood focused on the case histories of several individuals who had contacted Littlewood having signed up for RED driving instructor training courses following RED's extensive TV and press advertising campaigns, but felt that the services that they had received did not match the promises made in RED's promotional literature.

This programme is now available to view on BBC iPlayer at Don't Get Done, Get Dom - Series 4 - Red Driving School

BBC's Dominic Littlewood Investigates Red Driving School Instructor Training - Monday 31/05/10

2010-05-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

The BBC's Dominic Littlewood is set to be the latest TV consumer champion to investigate Red Driving School's driving instructor training courses.

In his show "Don't Get Done, Get Dom" scheduled to be broadcast on Monday 31st May 2010 at 9:00am on BBC1;
"Dom helps a group of people who followed their dreams of becoming driving instructors, signing up to a training course with Red Driver Training - only to be landed with a huge debt and no training. Dom looks at their rights and helps them try to get their money back." (source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snlnb)

For more information see
Don't Get Done, Get Dom - Red Driving School
Monday 31st May 2010 9:00am BBC1

Funny Mugs For Driving Instructors

2010-03-13T09:13:00.000-08:00

Hot on the heels of yesterday's post announcing our range of Funny Driving Instructor T-Shirts, we bring you...

Funny Mugs For Driving Instructors!

As part of our twofold mission to bring a smile to the faces of fellow ADIs throughout the world and to provide inspirational gift ideas for birthday and Christmas presents for driving instructors, we have designed a range of clothing and gifts for driving instructors incorporating amusing slogans and images pertinent to driving instructors!

Here's a few examples of our driving instructor mugs - you can see more at Driving Instructor Mugs and even more mugs (plus our entire range of driving instructor clothing, gifts and merchandise) at Driving Instructor Gifts.

World's Best Driving Instructor by CDT123

Trust Me I'm A Driving Instructor by CDT123

Bring Some Money by CDT123

Funny T-Shirts For Driving Instructors

2010-03-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

There's a distinct lack of amusing merchandise for driving instructors available, so in a fit of whimsy, my associate and myself have designed some!

We have a range of (hopefully!) funny T-shirts for driving instructors with humorous driving instructor related slogans and designs available to buy online!

Below are some examples and you can see more at Driving Instructor T-Shirts and even more at Driving Instuctor Gifts!

World's Best Driving Instructor by CDT123

Bring Some Money by CDT123

totally REDiculous by CDT123

Buyer Found For LVG, Owners Of RED Driving School

2010-02-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

LVG (Lansdowne Venture Group) who went into administration last week is to be bought by private equity specialists, Kelso Place.

LVG is best known for the RED brand of driver training companies including RED Driving School, RED Instructor Training and RED Fleet Training.

For more information see the full news report on TimesOnline - Red Driving School is saved.

Have RED Gone Bust? LVG Ltd, Owners Of RED Driving School & RED Instructor Training Go Into Administration

2010-02-18T06:46:00.000-08:00

Thousands of trainee driving instructors face a worrying time as the owners of RED Driving School and RED Instructor Training go into Administration.

LVG Limited (Lansdowne Venture Group) are best known for the RED brand of driver training services:

RED Driving School
RED Instructor Training
RED Fleet Training

LVG Limited also supply accountancy services to driving instructors under the FBTC brand and publish ADI News, a monthly magazine for driving instructors.

The Administrators, MCR have stated that:

"...The business is currently being traded in Administration whilst a sale of the business and assets of the Company as a going concern is pursued..." (source: MCR)

Some of the 19 RED Instructor Training Colleges throughout the UK have already closed, with RED training and administrative staff being made redundant and existing driving instructor trainees being transferred to remaining RED Instructor Training Colleges .

In recent weeks RED have been running sales promotions in shopping centres around the UK with the aim of generating interest in their driving instructor training courses.

LVG Ltd origins and timeline:

1993 - The Instructor College Ltd commenced business providing driving instructor training courses.
1994 - The Instructor College Ltd bought an existing driving school and re-named it "Red". They started offering franchises with Red Driving School to driving instructor trainees who were with The Instructor College.
1997 - LVG Ltd was formed to combine the operations of The Instructor College and Red Driving School.
2004 - LVG Ltd acquired it's main competitor, a driving instructor training company and driving school called "Let's Drive" which had gone into Administration.
2004 - 2010 - expansion of the RED brand including extensive TV and newspaper promotion of the driving instructor training side of the business
16/02/2010 - LVG Ltd enter Administration - as of 18/02/2010 their companies are continuing to trade whilst a buyer is sought.

In 2009, LVG Ltd suffered adverse publicity when RED was featured on an ITV Tonight Programme entitled "How To Blow Your Redundancy" which examined claims made by RED in their TV adverts for driving instructor training courses.

RED Go Into Administration - Uncertainty For RED Driving Instructor Trainees (PDIs)

2010-02-17T15:04:00.000-08:00

LVG Limited (Lansdowne Venture Group) whose companies include several well known driver training industry brands including RED Instructor Training, RED Driving School and RED Fleet Training went into administration on 16/2/10.

The business is currently being traded in Administration whilst a sale of the business and assets of the Company as a going concern is pursued.

MCR have been appointed as Administrators.

More information about the current situation can be found at: MCR

LVG Ltd have made the following statement:

"LVG Ltd has appointed MCR to take the company into administration as at 4.30pm on 16 February 2010

It is the intention of the administrators that the company continue to trade while a buyer is secured. We are very optimistic that a buyer will be found imminently to remove LVG from administration as soon as possible.

We would like to reassure all our stakeholders that the company will continue to trade, it is business as usual and our employees and customers will not be affected.

This means that if you are employed by LVG, have a franchise with RED Driving School, are training with RED Instructor Training, are a customer of RED Fleet Training, have accounts with FBTC, have a subscription to adiNEWS or products on order through PDIA, it is business as usual.

We will update you all as soon as we have further information.

Regards,

LVG Ltd"

The Best Books & Software Products For Trainee Driving Instructors

2009-07-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

If you're training to become a driving instructor, there's a wide choice of books, DVDs and PC software available to help trainee driving instructors study for the ADI qualifying exams - but how can you tell which ones are the best?

This webpage offers reviews and recommendations of tried and tested commercially available driving instructor training materials - click the link for more details;

Driving Instructor Books & Software

Petition Against Driving Instructors Being Forced To Sit In On Driving Tests

2009-05-21T04:10:00.000-07:00

As announced in the DfT "Consultation To Drive Report", from October 2010 the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) will make it compulsory for the person presenting a candidate for a driving test to be present in the car for the whole of the test and the debrief.

An online petition has been started by the UK Driving Instructors Confederation protesting about this decision.

The wording of the petition is as follows;

At present, a driving test candidate has the right to decide if they want an observer accompanying them on their driving test.

In our view, it is totally wrong for the Driving Standards Agency to impose a rule to force an accompanying driver or observer to accompany a driver on their test, as set out in the document issued by DfT "Consultation To Drive Report", quote "making it mandatory for the person presenting the candidate for test to sit in the car for the duration and debrief".

This is unworkable, and can in some circumstances affect the result of the test. For example, an extremely nervous candidate may make a serious or dangerous driving fault that they might not otherwise have done so, had an observer not been present in the vehicle.

If the driving test examiner is also accompanied by a senior examiner as well as the accompanying driver, this could impose a severe burden on the vehicles handling characteristics, as it would for the driving test candidate.

If you would like to view and/or sign the petition, it can be seen at Petition to: prevent the Driving Standards Agency from introducing the rule to force observers to accompany driving test candidates on test. Number10.gov.uk

Made Redundant? Should You Re-Train As A Driving Instructor?

2009-03-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

On Friday 27 March 2009, ITV1 broadcast a programme entitled "How to Blow Your Redundancy" in which;

"presenter Fiona Foster meets people who have lost their redundancy cash in bids to start a business or retrain for a new career."

One of the cases featured was a man who had embarked on a driving instructor training course after seeing TV adverts from "Red Driving School".

The programme analysed claims made in the TV adverts and in promotional literature by "Red Driving School" including;

* You can expect to earn £600 per week.
* The job of a driving instructor is recession proof.
* There is a national shortage of driving instructors in the UK.
* It is usual to qualify within 20 weeks.

According to the programme, most of these claims were found to have little basis in reality.

The programme is available online for viewing until 26 April 2009 at ITV Player - How to Blow Your Redundancy

Increase in driving instructor test fees and cost of a PDI trainee licence from 24 April 2009

2009-03-27T02:24:00.000-07:00

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) have announced an increase in ADI test fees and the cost of a PDI trainee licence from 24th April 2009 as follows;

ADI Part 1 Theory Test; £90.00

ADI Part 2 Test of Driving Ability; £111.00

ADI Part 3 Test of Instructional Ability; £111.00

PDI trainee licence fee; £140.00

The fee increases will apply to tests and licence applications booked on or after 24 April 2009.

DETAILS OF ALL TEST FEE INCREASES CAN BE SEEN AT DSA - Driving Standards Agency announces changes to test fees

The fees are currently;

ADI Part 1 Theory Test; £80.00

ADI Part 2 Test of Driving Ability; 99.00

ADI Part 3 Test of Instructional Ability; £99.00

PDI trainee licence fee; £125.00

The ADI registration fee remains at £300.00

Potential Driving Instructor starter packs remain at £5.00

Training As A Driving Instructor - Skills And Personal Qualities Required By Driving Instructors

2009-03-11T03:59:00.000-07:00

Just because you know how to drive doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to teach others how to do it!

It's not as easy as sitting next to someone and telling them when to switch on their indicators, brake, change gear or turn left...there's a great deal more to it than that!

I often come across people who say "I want to be a driving instructor because I love driving and I like people"...that's a good start, but there's a lot more to consider!

"Loving driving" is great...but as a driving instructor, YOU won't be doing that much driving! - you'll be in the passenger seat concentrating very hard on someone else doing the driving.

Will you "love" doing the same sort of thing over and over again, day in and day out? Turns in the road, reversing round corners, spending most of a lesson trying to help a pupil get the hang of turning right, an hour spent going round and round all the roundabouts in the town centre from all the different approaches...there's not much "pedal to the metal" or freedom of the open road" in it for driving instructors!

"Liking people" is also great...but you won't be in a nice relaxed social situation, where you can do much chatting on a "getting to know you" basis. You'll be sitting next to a novice driver, who is in charge of a motorised metal killing machine travelling at speed.

It's often pretty hard to like people who seem to want to kill you!

Not every pupil you have will be "likeable" by any means...nor will they necessarily do what you ask them...nor will they always appreciate what you do!

Unlike the world of a driving instructor portrayed in the rosy-glow of the TV adverts, "real people" do not often rush out to the car, smiling in eager anticipation of their forthcoming wonderful driving lesson with their wonderful driving instructor which will ultimately lead to even bigger smiles and lots of hugs of gratitude at the driving test centre when they pass their driving test!

"Real people" don't always find learning to drive easy....real people get nervous and stressed and make mistakes....real people get emotional, lose their temper, don't always listen or do what they've been asked to do....real people scrape your tyres on the kerb or knock off other people's wing mirrors or go the wrong way round a roundabout...real people worry about the cost of their driving lessons...real people cancel driving lessons at short notice leaving you out of pocket....real people sometimes mess you around big time!

In other words, if you think the job is all smiles and charming, grateful pupils, then I'm afraid you're in for a bit of a shock!

"Loving driving and liking people" are "nice to haves", but there are far more important qualities needed by a driving instructor!

You may be able to drive pretty well, but do you possess the ability to TEACH others effectively?

Do you have the interpersonal, verbal, motor and cognitive skills required to be a driving instructor?

Can you, with complete confidence, know that that you would be able to remain patient, calm and professional, either in a dangerous situation while out on the road, or with a person who could not or would not do what you asked them?

Driving instruction is self-employment, so you also need to possess all the skills required to run your own business, such as;

* mathematical skills (you need to handle money, keep accounts, pay your own tax and national insurance, organise budgets for advertising and personal training etc),
* good communication skills, both verbally and in writing (you need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively on many different levels, with government departments such as the DSA and HM Revenue and Customs, professionals such as accountants and driving examiners, parents of younger pupils and pupils of varying ages from 17 to 70 and from all walks of life, face to face and by telephone, letter and email),
* organisational skills (you need to be able to manage your time by means of a diary system for pupil appointments and to control all the necessary "paperwork" that goes with running your own business),
* knowledge of self employment (you need to know about self-employed franchises if you are going to work as part of a driving school - or if you work as an independent solo driving instructor, you'll need to get your head around advertising and business administration. You'll also need to keep accurate self employed accounts and calculate your own tax return etc ).

There are numerous different skills and personal qualities that the TV adverts for driving instructor training and the sales patter don't bother to go into and which, for many people, seems to come as a surprise...often a nasty one.

The Transport Office is the Government department which, via it's executive agency "The Driving Standards Agency" (DSA) regulates and sets the standards for driver training in this country. The Transport Office website, states the following ...

Approved Driving Instructors require a high standard of driving ability and
a sound knowledge of the subjects related to teaching others to drive and must
be able to apply these abilities.

Teaching others to drive includes being knowledgeable about:
* how to teach
* how people learn
* how to assess the performance of others
* communication
* interpersonal skills

In addition to the skills listed by The Transport Office, you'll need to possess all of the following personal qualities too;

* be articulate - you MUST be able to express yourself verbally both clearly and concisely. You need to be able to give easily understandable instructions very quickly. Driving instruction is NOT a job for those who like to waffle or for those who cannot get their point across to others. Additionally, you must be able to speak English fluently - if someone cannot understand what you are saying, either because your command of English is poor or because they cannot understand your accent, it can lead to stressful and even dangerous situations...
* patience - not everyone "gets it" first time...or even second time...or even third time...or...
* understanding and empathy - you need to be able to understand the needs and feelings of your pupils - being able to interpret "body language" is important too...
* calmness and self-control - you will frequently find yourself in stressful and difficult situations, but you must be able to deal with this like an adult and like the Professional you should be. Driving instruction is NOT the right career for those prone to losing their temper or getting stressed...
* reliability - your pupils pay you to turn up on time and to give them your attention and professional expertise for the whole of their allotted lesson. There are lots of driving instructors out there and if you can't or won't be reliable, your pupils will soon find an instructor that will...
* diplomacy - tact and diplomacy will keep your pupil diary full...bluntly telling the pupil "That turn in the road was absolute rubbish..don't you listen to a word I say?" won't...
* a sense of humour - humour diffuses stress and helps pupils (and you) relax. Lessons that are enjoyable and fun are more effective too...
* an open mind - as a driving instructor you will know very little about any of your pupils before they get into your car for the first time. If you have a tendency to harbour prejudices or irrational dislikes about any sector of society, you should consider a different career before you offend someone...
* honesty - your pupils will be paying you large sums of money. Take care of it and keep proper accounts...
* business acumen - you will more than likely be self-employed, either on a franchise or working as a sole trader. You must have some grasp of what is involved in running your own business and be prepared to find out if you do not...
* be prepared to study (a lot) and self-motivate - both when you train and even after you qualify. Good driving instructors keep up to date with training methods, legislation and gain additional qualifications (the latter, also known as Continuous Professional Development or CPD, is likely to be made mandatory by the DSA for all ADI's as part of their 4 yearly re-registration process).

Don't make the mistake of thinking that any or all of these personal qualities and vital skills are going to be adequately assessed by companies that offer driving instructor training. Many of them are far more interested in you handing over your money, than whether you're really a suitable person to start training as a driving instructor. Even the companies that offer "induction days" or "candidate screening" often do this merely as a sales ploy to get you there in person to listen to their sales pitch and usually the "induction/screening tests" are little more than a formality. Nearly everyone manages to pass these so called "assessments" and for those that fall short, there are usually reassurances that whatever is lacking isn't really important and can be "sorted out" somehow.

This is one reason why the ADI Exam Pass Rates are so low - people drop out of training when they realise that there's more involved than they were led to believe, or they fail to meet the standards required, usually after a LOT of time, expense and heartache...

My advice is to be brutally honest with yourself - think long and hard about whether you possess the skills, knowledge, personal qualities and ability to firstly cope with driving instructor training and secondly to teach others and run a successful self-employed business.

If you're easily flustered, impatient, don't express yourself very well, lack confidence, find it hard to "think on your feet", find the thought of handling money, paperwork or running your own business daunting, don't like studying or taking exams, have restrictions on your free time, want a "quick fix career", or think that being a driving instructor is "easy", then you're going to struggle and possibly make an expensive mistake by training to become a driving instructor...

If you're thinking about becoming a driving instructor, please see Everything You Need To Know About Becoming A Driving Instructor...And The Real Truth Behind The TV Adverts for detailed information about what's involved in the driving instructor qualification process, training, potential earnings and what's it's really like to work as a driving instructor.

Is There A Shortage Of Driving Instructors?

2009-03-05T04:00:00.000-08:00

Is there a shortage of driving instructors in the UK?

No, there is NOT a shortage of driving instructors in the UK.

...in fact, the opposite is more likely to be true. There is probably now a surplus of driving instructors.

Driving instructor training companies often use the "shortage of driving instructors" statement as a reassuring inducement - an attempt to persuade those considering driving instruction as a new career, that there's plenty of work out there for driving instructors.

Those who offer driving instructor training frequently use frantic and emotive terminology such as "driving instructors URGENTLY needed" to give the impression that they have scores of eager learner drivers queuing up at their door desperate to find driving instructors to teach them how to drive.

Yes, these companies ARE "urgently" in need of driving instructors...but not for the reason you might think.

Virtually all driving instructors in this country are self-employed, most of them via franchises with larger driving schools.

Driving school franchises are a lucrative business - each driving instructor pays the driving school owner a weekly or monthly fee, which can vary between under £50 (in the case of a small local driving school who don't supply the instructor with a car), up to a staggering £370 a WEEK in the case of the most well known national driving school. There's NO guarantee of a supply of work and a driving instructor is legally obliged to pay their franchise fee and other overheads whether they earn that amount or not...

Driving instructors are "urgently needed" by these sorts of companies for the franchise fees they gain as a steady source of income...NOT because there is an unmet demand for driving lessons.

THERE IS NOT A NATIONAL SHORTAGE OF DRIVING INSTRUCTORS

...in fact there are now approximately 44,000 qualified driving instructors on the ADI Register and more than 20,000 others already in training.

THERE IS NOT A HUGE DEMAND FOR DRIVING LESSONS IN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE - IN FACT MANY EXISTING DRIVING INSTRUCTORS ARE STRUGGLING TO MAKE ENDS MEET.

There was a steady fall in the birth rate from the late 1980's onwards and that has meant there are less 17 to 25 year olds (the age group that comprises most learner drivers) needing driving lessons.

Combine this with the effects of the credit crunch, meaning that demand for driving lessons has fallen steadily from mid-2008 onwards as less people are able or willing to spend money on taking driving lessons.

Add to that the endless churning out of newly qualified driving instructors and trainee instructors teaching on temporary instructor licences generated by these training companies, and it's made a bad situation a whole lot worse.

In some areas of the country even established driving instructors with good reputations and years of experience struggle for enough work.

Many are having to drop their lesson prices to try to compete with the growing number of driving instructors, which has a knock on effect of reducing their income.

Numerous driving schools and instructors have gone out of business or had to diversify away from the traditional "learner driver" market.

Driving instructor training companies are there to make money for themselves by convincing people to sign up for their driving instructor training courses. Their sales pitches are persuasive and emotive and designed to appeal to people's worries and insecurities in the current economic climate, no matter how much they try to dress them up as "careers advice".

Lots of people have been made redundant and unfortunately, there's probably many more who will find themselves in the same situation in the future. The TV, newspapers and magazines carry seemingly endless adverts for "new careers", including driving instruction and these are deliberately being targeted at those who find themselves urgently in need of a new job and who may well have the means to pay for a retraining course in the form of a redundancy payment.

Claims that the UK is short of driving instructors are simply NOT true. If anything, there's a surplus of driving instructors in many areas of the country.

It takes a considerable amount of money, time and effort to train as a driving instructor and the pass rates are low. Only around 6% of people who start driving instructor training eventually manage to qualify as Approved Driving Instructors (source: Transport Office) and of those that do qualify, many struggle to get established and to find enough work to make a living.

I cannot find the source at the moment, but I read recently that there is less than a 50% chance of a newly qualified driving instructor still working as a driving instructor 2 years after qualification - when I find the source of that figure, I'll add a link to it...but it's food for thought...

If you are looking for a new career and are considering becoming a driving instructor, PLEASE for your own sake, do not make a hasty decision.

Do LOTS of independent research about the driver training industry and the potential for work in your area. Find out exactly what is involved in the qualification process and what the pass rates are.

A good place to start looking for information about becoming a driving instructor is Everything You Need To Know About Becoming A Driving Instructor

Is The Credit Crunch Affecting Driving Instructors?

2008-11-28T10:55:00.000-08:00

I've been looking at the visitor stats for the driving instructor training webpage I run, and this kind of search term (driving instructors+credit crunch+recession etc) seems to be cropping up more and more frequently.

The simple answer is YES...

Driving instructors are being badly affected by the credit crunch.

Driving instructors don't have salaried "jobs", they are virtually all self-employed. Self-employment goes hand in hand with lots of overheads and expenses and little or no security at the best of times, let alone in an economic recession.

Self-employment in a service industry by it's very nature depends on enough people wanting the service supplied (in this case driving lessons) to ensure enough work for those doing the supplying (driving instructors)

Most people are already cutting down on their expenditure and one of the things they are cutting down on is driving lessons.

With less people demanding driving lessons, there is less and less work for existing driving instructors.

The price of driving lessons is falling in many areas of the country as instructors struggling to get work reduce lesson prices in an effort to try to attract those who do want driving lessons. Price wars are rampant with cut-price special offers at rates at which the instructor makes little or no money. Even some of the big national driving schools are doing cut-price special offers e.g BSM. Virtually all driving instructors and driving schools, large and small, are feeling the pinch.

It's a good time to be a learner driver as there are some impressive bargains to be had on driving lessons nowadays...but a terrible time to be a driving instructor.

Driving instructor internet messageboards are now featuring accounts of how existing driving instructors are struggling, with some taking second jobs to make ends meet, or even giving up driving instruction completely as they cannot make enough money to live on.

My advice to ANYONE contemplating training to be a driving instructor at the present time is simple..."DON'T DO IT"...there are too many driving instructors already and not enough work

Here's a few links to some recent threads (November 2008) on driving instructor internet forums which outline the problems that even qualified ADI's with years of experience, good test pass rates, good reputations and advertising already in place are having trying to get enough work to make ends meet at the moment;
Giving it up!!
I am worried, Is this the End?
Pupil sourcing

Driving Instructor Training Courses - What You Should Know!

2008-11-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

Red Driving School...The Instructor College...BSM...The AA Driving School...you see their adverts for driving instructor training courses virtually every time you turn on the TV, open a newspaper or surf the internet these days...there are loads of other similar adverts from other less well known companies too...

They're all trying to sell a dream...a dream of a well-paying career, a nice car, flexible working hours and job security...it's no coincidence that as the worldwide financial crisis starts to hit ordinary people that suddenly there's a brand new Red Driving School driving instructor training advert on the TV now promising that becoming a driving instructor will ensure you a "job for life".

The most important thing you must know before you go any further is this...training driving instructors is BIG BUSINESS...and I mean BIG...it is quite literally a goldmine and possibly one of the nearest things you'll get to a licence to print money...

Up until fairly recently, ordinary driving schools did virtually all the instructor training in the UK and there were only a few small independent instructor training organisations.However since then, seeing a niche in the market and the potential to make lots of money, a number of large instructor training companies have sprung up.Nowadays nearly all the big driving schools including the AA, BSM, and Red Driving School, make a great deal of their money from driving instructor training courses. It is now a VERY lucrative source of income for them...possibly even more lucrative than their "traditional" role of teaching people how to drive.

The Instructor College is not a driving school, but it and Red Driving School are both owned by the same company "LVG Ltd" (in 2007 they also incorporated "Lets Drive", a high-profile instructor training company and driving school).

It can cost up to £4000 for a driving instructor training course run by a big training company.

The "guaranteed job" or "guaranteed placement" training companies mention in their adverts brings them in even more of your money...what they actually offer is not a job in the sense that most people think...there's no guaranteed work or a salary or contract of employment - what they're actually providing is a FRANCHISE with them (definition:- "Franchise - the right or license granted by a company to an individual or group to market its products or services in a specific territory"). Virtually all of the driving school cars you see with "BSM", "AA Driving School", "Red Driving School" etc written all over them are not driven by people who "work" for these companies - they are self-employed driving instructors who have taken out a franchise with those companies (and that's the norm for the entire driver training industry - we're all self-employed either working independently or as franchisees of a larger drivng school).

Some of these big companies charge a lot of money for their franchises - close to a staggering £400 a WEEK in the case of the market leader (which you have to pay whether they supply you with enough work for you earn that amount or not.)

That's why phrases such as "instructors urgently needed" are used in adverts for driving instructor training...you might think it's because there is loads of work...in reality instructors are "urgently needed" by these companies for the franchise fees they pay...

There is nothing illegal about what these companies do...they do train people to become driving instructors and they do provide work for their franchisees (although they will not, and more to the point cannot, guarantee this)...what I (and many others) have an issue with, is the "simplistic" (and some would say downright misleading) manner in which their advertising suggests that it is easy is to become a driving instructor, the level of the potential earnings, the supply of work and the potential flexibility and future of driving instruction as a profession.

To end, PLEASE remember too that these big companies are NOT in the business of offering you "impartial careers advice", they are trying to sell you their product...they are offering this training because it is a way of making money...for THEM.

The people who you talk to on induction meetings are sales-people and they will use sales pitches and sales tactics to sell you their product (the training course). They will more than likely flatter you...tell you that "you're ideally suited" or "exactly the sort of person" they are looking for. They will big up the positives and neglect to tell you about the negatives. You may be taken out on a "test drive" - I've only heard of two people not passing this bit with flying colours and even then they were told that whatever they had done wrong could be "ironed out with a little bit of work" and the rest of the sales pitch was carried on regardless!

You may be told things like it's possible to do a 2 week intensive course to cover "everything" you'll need for Part 3...this is so wide of the mark, so misleading and so WRONG that polite words temporarily fail me...

You may well also be offered some kind of inducement to sign up for the course there and then...there'll be a discount offerred which just so happens to be "only available today" or the sales rep will go away and negotiate a "deal" for you with his/her manager if you sign up on the spot...PLEASE don't get carried away by attractive sales-pitches...do your research and always bear in mind the saying "if something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is"...

For lots more important things you should know about becoming a driving instructor and driving instructor training courses, please see;

Everything You Need To Know About Becoming A Driving Instructor...And The Real Truth Behind The TV Adverts For Driving Instructor Training

Driving Instructor Earnings

2008-11-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

How much do driving instructors get paid?
How much do driving instructors earn?
Driving instructor salary
How much money do driving instructors make?
Driving instructor wage rates

There's been a massive increase in visitors to a driving instructor webpage I run over the last few weeks, and it seems that most are wanting to know about the financial aspect of being a driving instructor!

In order to answer the "how much money" question, I'll start by explaining a bit more about the driver training industry in the UK and how it runs itself!

The first thing you need to understand is that the overwhelming majority of driving instructors are SELF-EMPLOYED (I'd guess at least 98%). Hardly any driving instructors are employed on a salaried basis by a driving school.

With very few exceptions, driving instructors in the UK do not "work for" a driving school - they work for themselves, either as independent instructors running a "one man/woman band" local driving school or they take out a franchise with a larger driving school.

When you see a driving school which seems to have lots of driving instructors working for it, those instructors have, almost certainly, taken out a FRANCHISE with that school.

A driving school franchise means that the instructor has to pay the driving school a fee every week or every month and in return the driving school usually tries to source pupils for them (although there's often a clause in the contract that pupil supply cannot be guaranteed), handles any necessary advertsing, allows the instructor to use the company name and sometimes provides a vehicle. The instructors themselves are responsible for their own accounts, tax, national insurance, business expenses, fuel costs etc.

When you see TV and newspaper adverts talking about a "guaranteed placement" with a driving school, they are NOT referring to a "job" with a weekly wage or a monthly salary...they are talking about a FRANCHISE, for which the instructor has to pay anything from under £50.00 per week with a small local driving school, to in excess of a staggering £370.00 per week with a nationwide Big School of Motoring. Some franchises do not include a supply of pupils and make an additional charge per pupil supplied on top of the franchise fee.

DRIVING INSTRUCTORS DO NOT RECEIVE A REGULAR WEEKLY WAGE OR MONTHLY SALARY.

The ONLY way driving instructors make money is from the fees their pupils pay them for teaching them to drive. If an instructor charges, say, £20 per hour for a lesson, that does not mean that £20 is theirs to spend - at least half of that sum will be spent out on their business expenses such as franchise fees, fuel and vehicle costs, insurance, advertising etc, leaving them with around £10 an hour out of which they then have to pay tax and national insurance.

As a very rough guide, the net hourly income for a driving instructor after business overheads, tax and national insurance is around £7 or so. I've based that rough calculation on the basis of 30 hours of paid work, so if an instructor works more hours, the net hourly income will increase and if they work less hours, it will decrease.

While it follows that the more lessons an instructor gives, the more money they will earn, unfortunately it's not always that simple...if an instructor works in an area where there are lots of other instructors in competition with them, they may find there is not enough work to go around. If an instructor becomes ill or otherwise unable to work, THEY GET PAID NOTHING AT ALL...however expenses such as franchise fees, loan repayments, vehicle leasing charges etc still have to be paid regardless of whether sufficient income has been earned and if they are not paid, legal action is likely to follow.

Being self-employed means no paid holidays, sick pay, pensions or any other "perks" that people who are employed might get.

The TV adverts for driving instructor training courses talk about "earning up to £30,000" a year. Note the use of the term "up to"...

You will have to work very, very hard to earn anything like £30,000. Up until recently, the advice I used to give was that in the first few years of a driving instructor's career, it would be unrealistic to expect to earn anything approaching that sum on the grounds that it takes time to build up a successful business and good reputation and in the early years overheads can be high as a supply of work needs to be obtained via advertising and/or a franchise, both of which can be expensive. In later years, as a good reputation is steadily gained and word of mouth recommendations increase, overheads decrease to some extent as less advertising is needed to get a sufficient supply of pupils. This advice, while still true, has now been affected by external economic influences and for many driving instructors, it is now even harder to earn a decent living.

In the current economic climate with people getting increasingly concerned about "the credit-crunch", global financial problems, job security and the rising cost of living, there has been a significant drop in the number of people wanting professional driving lessons as they "tighten their belts" and economise on their spending. With less people wanting the service that driving instructors supply and the fact that there are already over 44,000 fully qualified driving instructors, plus several thousand trainee driving instructors out there teaching on temporary trainee instructor licences, for many, earning anything approaching £30,000 is impossible as there simply is not enough work available.

It's one thing to be prepared to chase a goal of £30,000 by working your socks off and putting in long hours, but if there isn't enough work available, then for many it now simply isn't possible to achieve this aim.

The answer to the question "how much money do driving instructors earn?" is unfortunately, "not very much"...

Is Being A Driving Instructor Really A Job For Life?

2008-11-02T07:52:00.000-08:00

The latest TV advert for "Red Driving School" driving instructor training courses is clearly aimed at people worried about their jobs in the current economic climate.

There will be a lot of people being made redundant in the near future, many of whom will be looking for new careers, possibly funded by their redundancy payments.

The advert's message is plain, "take our training course to become a driving instructor because being a driving instructor is a well paid, secure, job for life".

Becoming an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) is a SKILL that you can KEEP for life, but it's NOT a guarantee of a secure, well paid career.

The TV adverts are trying to SELL driving instructor training courses, not giving unbiaised careers advice. Naturally it follows that they'll paint a glowing picture of what it's like to be a driving instructor. They're going to portray driving instruction as a career that is not only attainable, but desirable, in terms of job security, job satisfaction and a good income,

The truth is that a career for life in driving instruction is only in with a chance of being "for life" if you manage to get through the difficult qualification process to become a driving instructor in the first place!

Less than 5 (yes, that''s "five") out of every 100 people who start driving instructor training manage to get through all 3 parts of the qualifying process to become fully qualified ADIs - the other 96-point-something either drop out or fail.

Once qualified, there's still no guarantee of being able to work as a driving instructor "for life", as in order to remain on the ADI Register, every driving instructor must consistently pass periodic Driving Standards Agency check-tests on the standard of their driving instruction and also pay a substantial regsistration fee to the DSA every four years.

Getting and remaining qualified as an ADI is only one consideration...the other important factor in the "career for life" aspect, is whether working as a driving instructor can bring in enough money to pay the bills.

The stark reality is that driving instructors are already being badly affected by "the credit crunch".

Driving instructors don't have salaried "jobs". Apart from a few exceptions, driving instructors are not "employed". The vast majority of driving instructors in the UK are self-employed, working either independently or as franchisees and any "security" they have depends on them being able to remain on the ADI Register and more importantly, being able to source enough work at a price that enables them to earn an acceptable income after their business overheads are paid.

Self-employment goes hand in hand with lots of overheads and expenses and little or no security at the best of times, let alone in an economic recession.

Self-employment in a service industry by it's very nature depends on enough people wanting the service supplied (in this case driving lessons) to ensure work (and resulting income) for those doing the supplying (driving instructors).

Many people are already cutting down on their expenditure and one of the things they are cutting is taking professional driving lessons.

With less people wanting driving lessons, there is less and less work for existing driving instructors.

There are currently over 44,000 fully qualified driving instructors in the UK and over 20,000 more trainee driving instructors at various stages in the qualification process. Or to put it another way, too many driving instructors and not enough learner drivers.

The price of driving lessons is falling further and further as competing driving instructors struggling to get work reduce their lesson prices in an effort to try to attract those who do want driving lessons. Price wars are rampant with cut-price special offers at rates at which the instructor makes little or no money.

It's a good time to be a learner driver...but a terrible time to be a driving instructor.

Driving instructor internet forums are full of accounts of how well established driving instructors are struggling, with some taking second jobs to make ends meet, or even giving up driving instruction completely as they cannot make enough money to live on.

My advice to ANYONE contemplating training to be a driving instructor at the present time is simple..."DON'T DO IT"...there are too many driving instructors already and not enough work.

Save your money, put your redundancy cheque in the bank and tell the driving instructor training companies to sell their rose-tinted dream to some other sucker...you'll probably earn more stacking shelves at your local supermarket...and I'm being deadly serious...