Everyone who has learnt to drive or taken driving lessons remembers their driving instructor. They are the ones who set you on your first steps to getting on the open road. But have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually become a driving instructor?
Well, thousands of people have and thousands more are keen to get their hands on the steering wheel. With approximately 1.6 million learner tests conducted annually the demand for new instructors is there so if you have the time, patience, skill, concentration and are more than competent enough to teach other people to learn to drive, then perhaps you should consider this as a career.
What is it?
Becoming a driving instructor is not all it seems. You can’t simply get into a car and drive off into the sunset. There is a lot that must happen behind the scenes before you can start taking pupils out on the road and teaching them all they need to know.
You have to pass a three-stage exam to become an ADI (approved driving instructor), take in a lot of literature, be prepared for a lot of hard work and choices and part with a certain amount of money to complete the picture. Yet even when you have achieved those goals the personal qualities needed are as invaluable as the technical ones.
You can choose to start out on your own. Alternatively you could train with and sign up to a pre-established franchise that already has a list of pupils, contacts and trainers. In both cases you are self-employed but with varying degrees of individuality and support. A franchise-based company will offer training. However, it will charge a fee (usually a percentage of the lessons they have booked on your behalf or a fixed fee) but you might want the support that will be there in the background. Heading out on you own, on the other hand, can be a lonely business and also one that you control. Depending on whether it is a career change or career start, as well as your personality and business acumen, this is entirely up to you.
Who is it suited to?This profession is open to all but often lends itself to fresh starters and more practically minded workers. Nick Zapettis, of A2Z Motoring in Swansea sees various kinds of people enter the profession but has noticed a few common threads.
“This is generally not a job that is suited to school leavers but more for those people who fancy a change of direction. For example, ex members of the armed forces, retired police force personnel, people who have been made redundant or perhaps bus or lorry drivers who are tired of going away from home and want a more permanent business.”
However, as much as it is open to all, there are several characteristics that are crucial to the job. You have to be willing to work hard during exams and training. You must apply your skills and knowledge via carefully constructed lessons in an approachable and amicable manner.
Zapettis believes interpersonal and communication skills to far outweigh the more technical areas. “The examinations and technical issues are important but are not really the issue, it is the ability to empathise and get on with your pupils and create a lasting relationship that is of vital importance. For example, you can have a technically brilliant person but one who is not a people person or well liked by the pupil.”
A healthy sense of humour, patience and product knowledge are also vital as each pupil has a different character and personality so there will be a new challenge on a daily basis. For example one lesson may be with a slower learner such as the infamous Maureen Reece of television’s “Driving School”. But the next lesson may be with a 17-year old teenager who is eager to get some wheels and hit the road.
