Sitting here watching the snow this morning got me thinking about the reasons I decided on my change of direction and became a driving instructor.
The last time we had a significant amount of snow, and it was quite a bit the option of going to work or not was not there.
By way of explanation, this was not about me not wanting to work. It was about the nature of the job I was doing.
Before becoming a driving instructor, I was a self-employed courier who subcontracted my services to a larger company. The nature of the business contract involved banking and was important to people’s day to day finances so despite sometimes treacherous conditions ‘the show’ had to go on. Not doing so meant you risked your contract and was replaced with little warning or ceremony.
This extended to other situations too. Such as calling in sick only to be told there was no cover and you had to come in. All though the threat may not have been made, it was very much implied.
Cost cutting measures meant that the amount of money being paid would periodically be reduced but the workload would not, and when questioned, it was made clear that you were very much replaceable.
Putting in those holiday request forms and occasionally waiting weeks for responses only to be told no.
I had a good look around the warehouse one day and saw people twenty years my senior still carrying large, heavy boxes around and pulling twelve hour shifts and began to question if that was what I wanted for the rest of my working life.
I had been a driver in one way shape or form since I was 18 years old and did not know much else really and I also knew that an office job was not for me, so I began to consider options.
The list I made consisted of Driving Instructor, HGV Driver or Black Taxi Driver. After a lot of lists of pros and cons I settled on Driving Instructor and I can honestly say… I have never looked back.
I looked around online, as most of us do and did an exhaustive amount of research (very much my thing) and to be honest, was left a little confused!
Luckily, one of my partners clients was a driving instructor and asking for a chat with her was probably the smartest move I made. She was able to put me in touch with trainer and we managed to meet for a coffee.
The whole process made so much more sense in conversational form and we gelled right away, even down to our love of coffee!
To me, choosing my trainer rather than having one allocated to me seemed right!
Can we really learn well from someone we cannot connect with?
The stage was set, the orchestra was engaged… now it was time to see if I could dance!
I moved through Parts 1 & 2 of the qualifying process quickly (theory test and driving ability test) and progressed the teaching assessment Part 3.
Part 3 was the eye opener! It may seem a little late but the epiphany of it not being a driving job, but a teaching job really hit me hard!
The Part 3 now is quite different to the Part 3 I did to qualify, and it would be wrong of me to suggest either the former or the latter are easy to pass. It takes work, it takes perseverance, and it takes time and commitment…
But it was worth it!
My training was nothing short of excellent and since qualifying as an ADI I have not really stopped training and have since become a qualified Coach in Driver Training and Development.
Now that I am training Driving Instructors, I wanted to be able to offer the same excellent training I was lucky enough to have.
The Driving Instructor Training system I use allows you to study all the parts simultaneously without any information overload and from your very first in-car session… you get to be in the instructor seat!
I wanted a change…
I wanted to be in control…
I wanted to help make the roads a little safer…
So, the first questions to ask yourself is…
“Do I want something different...?”
“When do I want it…?”
And if it’s not now… when?
Thanks for reading and I hope you found it interesting? In the next blog I’ll be writing about what happened next!
https://www.inspire-dt.co.uk/instructor-training
