As a driving instructor, you would teach people how to drive safely and develop the skills they need to pass their driving test.
You would start by assessing the learner's driving knowledge and skills. You would then plan a series of lessons based on this assessment, to get learners to the point where they can take their driving test.
Most driving lessons follow a similar pattern. As an instructor you would teach your clients about:
using vehicle controls with confidence
the correct approach to road safety
vehicle control, turning, reversing and parking
driving laws and the Highway Code
dealing with emergency situations
basic vehicle checks.
Every day is different. You meet lots of people from all different backgrounds.
Managing your own diary means you can work as much or as little as you want to, depending on how much you need to earn.
You are your own boss. But there's always support if you need it. If you need more pupils or someone prangs your car, the 1st Time Pass team is there to help.
Some days you might start as early as 6 or 7am, so someone can have a lesson before they go to work. Sometimes you'll work evening or weekends to suit your pupils or yourself, then take time off during the week. It's up to you – you're the boss.
There's huge job satisfaction in giving your pupils the freedom and independence they're desperate for, and seeing them succeed. When they succeed, you do too.
Ask yourself these questions...
If you can answer yes to these questions then this is the career for you.....
are you unhappy in your present job?
Do you want a job that is rewarding and fulfilling week after week?
Do you like meeting people?
Do you want every day to be different and a challenge?
Do you like to see the fruits of your labour?
Would you get a sense of satisfaction from knowing you had given someone a life-time’s skill which may enable them to secure a job, extend their social life or simple improve their mobility?
Do you want to work the hours you choose?
Would you like to take a holiday to suit you?
Do you want a job to fit around your family commitments?
Do you want financial security for the rest of your working life?
Why Choose us
Because we have over 15 years of experience we’ve successfully trained hundreds of instructors
We are a driving school as well as instructor trainers which keeps you still within the company rather than having two different places to train and work
Our prices are very reasonable
We are one of the only driving schools that don’t put you on a fixed franchise when you first start up instead we put you on a ‘ Pay as you go scheme ’.-We supply you with a car ( which is taxed & insured), dedicated office staff ( who will lapse your pupils and chase any monies outstanding). The comparison between a fixed franchise and a Pay as you go scheme is that with a franchise you’ll have to pay a fixed amount regardless of the amount of work that is given, whereas with a Pay as you go scheme you only pay a portion of every hour that you work. So if you don’t have any hours in your diary you don’t have to pay anything.
As an Approved Driving Instructor you will have a life long skill, need never be made redundant or sacked, and never need to ask the boss for a day off again.
This is a great time to join this rewarding profession. Driving is an essential part of life in today’s competitive world - everybody needs a driving licence to improve their job prospects, social life and mobility.
Contact the 1st Time Pass Team and we can help you make this a reality.
Also with a job promise from 1st Time Pass.co.uk one of the fastest growing Driving Schools there will be no reason not to take advantage of this chance.
A job with a secure future
Over the last 10 years, driving instructors' workloads have increased dramatically. Changes that have added to their workload include the addition of the Theory Test, the retraining of driving offenders, the introduction of the Pass Plus training scheme to reduce insurance premiums (additional motorway lessons etc., backed by the government and insurance companies alike), the introduction of a more difficult driving test (i.e. the introduction of bay parking and more difficult routes), the introduction of the Hazard Perception test for learners and ADIs alike, and finally, the introduction of the “show me tell me” section of the driving test.
With the emphasis on “duty of care” and the possibility of directors being prosecuted for corporate manslaughter, companies are now taking corporate driver training much more seriously and are looking to the driver training industry to provide assessment and training schemes to safeguard their employees and reduce driving stress. These new schemes can also save companies many thousands of pounds in fleet insurance premiums. Consequently, over the next few years we expect a major increase for driver training services in the corporate area of the market place.
Insurance premiums to cover an additional learner driver on a standard motor car insurance policy have dramatically increased over the last few years forcing many parents to have their children trained professionally rather than doing it themselves, again benefiting our industry.
Finally, on the horizon there is talk of introducing compulsory retesting of drivers every 10 years and making it compulsory for all learners to take a minimum number of professional driving lessons. As society becomes more safety conscious, training is bound to feature even more. Therefore, the future for driver training could not be brighter.
What is a Realistic Earning Potential?
£30k-£40k per year….is this achievable?
The simple answer is that it is absolutely achievable with the right backing. But like anything in life the more you put in, the more you take out. To achieve £30k - £40k a year you will need a good supply of leads. Initially these will need to be generated by advertising, but over time if you work hard your students will recommend you and your number of referred new clients will grow. You will also need to work hard – you won’t earn £30-£40k if you want to work part time hours as a driving instructor. Finally you will need to ensure that someone answers the phone to new students when they phone – difficult to do if you are out working all the time, but you won’t have a full diary if you don’t talk to anyone.
So it’s not easy but with hard work and dedication it is achievable. And if this is your ambition, a franchise with the right driving school should help you with the generation of new pupils and with answering the phones and keeping you diary full.
How soon will I earn a good wage?
•This depends on a number of things. You won’t have a full diary on day one. It will take a few weeks (or in some cases slightly longer) to build your diary.
•When you start out you need a diary full of brand new pupils and these pupils need to be found. Generally, if you do a good job you will keep most of these pupils for some time and only need new ones as a “trickle supply” for example when existing learners pass their test etc. As you become more experienced and your diary is full you will find that some of your pupils recommend you to their friends and family members. Add this to other pupils that come onboard and it is a recipe for a constantly busy diary. There will always be unforeseen circumstances such as cancelations when a pupil is ill etc, but with the right training you can learn to manage your pupils and your diary to accommodate this. For example, most good instructors, once busy, find that many of their pupils are begging for extra lessons because they want to pass their test quickly. If someone cancels it is often possible to fill that space by making a couple of quick telephone calls to other pupils and offering them an extra lesson.
Choosing a Driving School to Work For
Ensuring that you choose the correct driving school is the single most important factor in ensuring a busy diary. There are four main options…
Multi-national “big brand” driving schools:
These certainly have a huge market share and the big brands attract a lot of pupils. Some people say however that because of their size they often have a huge number of instructors which can mean that there are not enough pupils to go round.
These schools tend to charge higher weekly franchise fees than some smaller schools, which can eat into your income. Some even charge an introduction fee in addition to their franchise fee for each pupil that they provide.
In order to make their franchise more affordable the big schools often charge a higher hourly rate for learners. This may sound attractive to the instructor, but remember that in these uncertain times high priced driving lessons are beyond the affordability of many people which can limit the numbers of pupils that you will attract.
Go it Alone:
Many driving instructors operate successful “one man band” schools and earn a reasonably good income from doing so.
Many of these instructors are well established and get most of their work through word of mouth and recommendations following on from many years of being in the profession.
If you want to generate new pupils as a newly qualified driving instructor (who is not yet established) the costs for advertising can be extremely high and far outweigh the cost of a franchise with no guarantees that the phone will ever ring.
Also remember that if you are teaching it is almost impossible to spend time on the phone “selling” yourself. Therefore if potential customers call and leave a message it is not unusual for them to have already booked with another school by the time you call them back.
Joining a Local Instructor:
These days many local one man band instructors are becoming quite busy and therefore they sometimes take on one or two other instructors to help out with the workload.
This can be a great way to get work as a driving instructor but do bear in mind that the lead instructor usually takes all of the calls and therefore by right will have the pick of the work.
We do get people coming to us who have been in this situation and found themselves picking up the leftover jobs that the other instructors didn’t want to do and often (especially with the credit crunch) the main instructor fills their diary and there isn’t enough work to ensure everyone else is busy.
Mid sized driving schools (such as 1st Time Pass Driving School)
We like to think that with us you get the best of both worlds.
We are large enough to ensure that we spend enough money on marketing to obtain plenty of work for our instructors.
We remain small enough to know all our instructors and offer a real personal service.
We cannot afford to lose an instructor and we go to the ends of the earth to ensure that we keep our instructors busy.
We offer a competitively priced franchise and also price our driving lessons competitively.
We are not the cheapest (we don’t need to be) but we certainly are not the most expensive. This means that our cost coupled with our excellent reputation lead to a substantial amount of new learner enquiries coming in every day to build a new instructors’ diary in a timely manner, and keep it full.
How can we help?
If you are considering training for a new career as a driving instructor please give us a ring, we would be delighted to offer any help and advice you need.
