How to train

Editor Al Sutie provides our latest extract from the new and free "Ultimate Guide To Becoming A Driving Instructor"

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Intelligent Instructor is proud to have brought together industry experts to produce ‘The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Driving Instructor’.

It has been created in association with Drive.Day, a free magazine offering advice and guidance for those wishing to train and qualify as professional driving instructors.

This FREE 68-page digital magazine is packed with impartial, comprehensive, and detailed information for individuals looking to become driving instructors, and those who have already started out on the road to becoming a professional driver trainer.

Over the next ten weeks, we will publish a small selection of the articles in this guide.

This week, Al Sutie hops aboard the train to become a driving instructor.

 

 

How To Train – the train journey

When you think you want to become a Driving Instructor, here’s what you need to know
about the training journey.

Once you have made the important and exciting decision to become a Driving Instructor,
one of the most critical next choices you will make is how to train. While the official
testing process overseen by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) sets out what
is expected of you when you become an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI), there are many
way to go about this.
For a very few trainees, the way to achieve success will be to do it alone. It is possible to
become an ADI in this way, but it’s unusual and ignores so much of the support, information,
and other resources that are out there to help you succeed. Also, by training without
experienced ADIs and ORDIT (Official Register of Driving Instructor Training) trainers, you are
missing out on a wealth of knowledge that they are only too willing to share. For almost all
trainee driving instructors, they will seek out assistance to some degree or other, so let’s
look at what’s on offer.

Who to train with?

Becoming a Driving Instructor is not dissimilar to learning to drive – it
may be possible to do it on your own, but professional tuition is going to be far more likely
to bring you the success you want. This is why you need to seek out the advice and
instruction from an ADI. Some ADIs in your local area will be very happy to sit in with you
and offer advice and help on what is required to pass the three exams that will allow you to
work as an ADI. If you’re very lucky, you might find a local ADI who will give their time for
very little in return because they want to see another fellow professional teaching learner
drivers to a high standard. However, it’s more usual for ADIs to charge for the tuition they
give you as this is another form of driving lesson.

While a Driving Instructor does not have to pass any additional exams to offer tuition to a
trainee driving instructor, most have joined the voluntary ORDIT list that is run by the DVSA.
This gives you as a trainee the peace of mind that your instructor meets the standards set
out by the DVSA.

There is no rule against having more than one instructor when you’re a trainee. You may find
that different instructors help as they have a particular experience and expertise in different
areas. And never underestimate the power of a good relationship and rapport with an
instructor. If you don’t gel with an instructor, don’t be afraid to talk to them about this or
change to a different instructor.

“Find a trainer that will give you the nuts and bolts, and support and flexibility”

A lot of trainee Driving Instructors will opt to train with one of the many franchises that are
out there, such as The AA, Bill Plant, BSM, DRIVE, GoGreen, Inspire, LIDIA, RED, and many
others. This offers a one-stop option that is very appealing, but bear in mind you will be tied
to the company for a predetermined period of time in return for the training they provide.
The advantages here are the franchise provides your training, car, insurance, and booking
lessons when you are qualified, so you can focus on being an instructor.

Going down the franchise route also offers you support through the Part 1, 2, and 3 exams,
and you will be training with others in the same position as you so you can share knowledge
and experiences. However, as with any other training situation, don’t feel you have to accept
the first trainer provided to you if you don’t feel it’s working in the way you want to learn.
Remember, this is about you training to be an ADI and following your dream.

When choosing a trainer, aside from them being ORDIT-listed, a good look at what’s included
in their training programme is vital. Some offer the basics to see you take on the three
exams needed to become an ADI. Much better is to find a trainer that will not only give you
the nuts and bolts of what’s required, but additional support and flexibility to fit in with your
learning goals. Many trainee Driving Instructors have to work while training, so check this in
advance. Equally, for some trainees, an intensive course can work more effectively. Does the
training provider offer online tutoring, video courses, one-to-one driver training, and
support if you decide to work with a Trainee Instructor Licence?

Timings

How long it takes to qualify as an ADI will be different for every person looking to be
a Driving Instructor. As a rule of thumb, many ADIs go from applying to be a Driving
Instructor and beginning their training to passing the Part 3 exam and receiving their
certificate from the DVSA in around six months. That requires a lot of commitment and hard
work from the trainee, and you will have logged many hours of in-car training as well as
study to reach this point. However, there is no shame or stigma in taking longer and many
ADIs will happily tell you it took them up to a year to become fully qualified.

Alternatively, you may choose to fast-track the process with a more intensive course, and
many of the driving school franchises offer this as an option. Some say they can take you
from beginner to ADI in as little as a few weeks, but two months is a more realistic
timeframe.

Costs

Regardless of how you train or who you train with, there are some fixed costs to
becoming an Approved Driving Instructor. The first is £8.22 for a Disclosure and Barring
Service (DBS) check, or if you are training in Northern Ireland you will need a criminal
record check.

After this, the fees for the three exams are £81 for Part 1, then £111 for Part 2, followed by a
further £111 for the Part 3 test. All in, this means you will have to pay a minimum of
£311.22. However, if you opt to work with a Trainee Driving Instructor licence after passing
the Part 2 exam, you will need to pay £140 for this.

As a qualified ADI, you will also have to pay £300 to gain your first ADI certificate, which is
also the green badge that you display in your car to prove you are a fully-fledged ADI to
pupils. It also costs £300 to renew your registration if you let it lapse for any reason.

For those who choose to train with a franchise, the costs vary based on the type of training
provided. A basic package costs from around £1200 and will usually include an initial driving
assessment, in-car training, tutorials, and online resources. A more comprehensive training
course comes in around £2500 and will offer far more one-to-one in-car training and more
dedicated time with tutors. Additional training is another option you can choose, which will
be priced at the normal Driving Instructor rate for that school.

“The sooner you think about these costs, the more you will be prepared for them.”

These can be substantial sums for many trainees to pay out in advance, especially with no
guarantee of passing the exams first time. To counter this, many schools offer a pay as you
go option, so you pay monthly instalments rather than everything up front. Also, many larger
franchises will refund your training fees after an agreed period when you successfully qualify
as an ADI and have worked for their franchise for that pre-determined time.
If you don’t have a car provided as part of a franchise deal, you will have to source one and
that usually means leasing a dual-control car from a specialised ADI lease firm. Prices start
from around £400 per month including VAT and maintenance, which means you don’t have
to pay for routine servicing. However, you will have to pay for insurance, road tax and all the
other normal running costs of a car.

Another cost to consider when training is how much you will spend on marketing your
business when you qualify. You may decide to have a website, which involves design costs,
domain name fees and hosting. You may also want business cards or leaflets to give to
potential pupils. There is also advertising in local newspapers or online to factor in, as well a
diary management app, though some like Drive.Day offer the first year’s use for free to get
you started. The sooner you think about these costs, the more you will be prepared for
them. Being part of a franchise will take away some of these costs when you start out.

Challenges

Becoming an ADI and finding the right trainer, or combination of trainers,
requires research and patience. However, it’s worth the effort as a happy, supportive
learning experience will allow you to enjoy the process rather than be anxious or feel you
have made a poor choice.

Another challenge for some trainee Driving Instructors will be a disability. This is no
impediment to becoming an ADI and, for some learner pupils who also have a disability, it
can be very reassuring to have lessons with a disabled ADI. Even if you cannot drive a car
with a manual gearbox, this does not prevent you from following the dream of being an ADI
as you will simply be restricted to teaching in a car with an automatic gearbox.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for most trainees is the pressure they put on themselves to
pass the three exams. When you pass the Part 1 exam, you must sit the following two tests
within two years or you will have to go back to square one to begin the process from the
start. For the Part 2 exam, you have three chances to pass it, but if you fail at the third
attempt you will have to wait two years from when you passed the Part 1 exam before
restarting the process from the beginning. The same system applies to the Part 3 exam,
where you have three opportunities to pass the exam. However, if you fail on the third
attempt, you will have to wait two years from when you first passed the Part 1 exam before
beginning the whole process from the start.

Badges

There are two types of Driving Instructor badge, or certificate. The first is the pink badge
that denotes a Trainee Driving Instructor licence. This is provided to those who have passed
the Part 1 and 2 exams but have yet to sit the Part 3 exam. The pink badge costs £140 and
allows the trainee to give paid-for lessons to pupils, as well as giving them the chance to gain
experience and confidence ahead of the Part 3 exam. However, the Trainee Driving
Instructor licence is only valid for up to six months, so this is not an indefinite way to offers
pupil lessons without having to sit the Part 3 exam.
When a trainee Driving Instructor has successfully completed the Part 3 exam, they must
register as an ADI within 12 months, which costs £300. When you register, you receive your
first ADI certificate, which is the green badge that allows you to charge for lessons and also
means you can set up your own business or join a driving school.

Al Sutie,

Editor, ‘The Ultimate Guide To Becoming A Driving Instructor’

 

Mirror, signal and proceed

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Log in to your free copy now by clicking here.

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