A little history to start. APass4U Nationwide is an Essex based driving school which started and remains a family run business with 4 members of the family working in the office to ensure things run as smoothly as they can. The business was started by Tony Mihill who has been an ADi for 17 years and Tony will always tell you that as he has spent time on the road he understands what an instructor goes through that’s why the business is set up the way it is (if the instructor makes money the company makes money and vice versa).
APass4U Nationwide has a network of about 200 instructors working within it and no one is tied to any onerous contracts or lengthy time period and in fact you don’t even have to pay franchise fees.
Whether you like intensive driving courses or not, the fact is they work for the right people. For a driving instructor they can eliminate cancellations, travelling time and maximise your earning hours. The way the courses work for APass4U is generally as 5 hour days, which have a 15-20 minute break (which comes out of the pupil’s time) somewhere near the middle depending on what you are doing. So if you start at 9 am you course day will finish at 2pm leaving you enough time to get a couple of hourly pupils learning or just have a nice early day.
It is a myth that you don’t earn as much doing intensive courses v’s hourly lessons unless you charge extortionate amounts. At APass4U Nationwide we pay £22.00 per hour which may not be as much as your hourly rate but you also don’t have travelling time or travelling costs.
5 hours of intensive course = £110.00
5 hours of hourly lesson (at £25 p/Hr) = £125.00
less travelling time (15 mins x 4 ) = £25.00
Total £100.00
So not only do you learn less but you are out longer as well when teaching on an hourly basis. The really big appeal with intensive courses is that cancellations are very rare and are normally for real reason, not just because the customer has a hangover.
The agreements used by APass4U Nationwide for driving instructors do not tie you into anything apart from the usual driving instructor bits and pieces like maintaining a vehicle fit for purpose, ensuring your ADI badge is valid and the usual protocols between instructor and pupil. You can see a copy of the agreement at the bottom of this article.
When we receive a booking we work on the basis that all pupils will need approximately 40 hours of lessons with an ADi and any with Mum/Dad or a partner are just a bonus. This way we can make sure that the pupil has a chance of getting to test standard and the ADi doesn’t bust a gut getting them ready. If it is not clear cut on what size course is the right one we offer a 2 hour assessment lesson so an ADi can see what the pupil can do or not as the case may be. That way we are giving the best advice possible. Of course as with all methods of teaching we have pupils that do not make it to the correct standard to go for test but we believe that with good communication between the instructor and pupil problems can be avoided so this is why we use a cancellation form which fully explains why someone is not going for test and what needs to be worked on.
As we cannot be in all places we manage our service standard by calling the pupil after a course with a wide ranging selection of questions looking at the booking service, the instructor and the overall experience. All feedback is available for the instructor should they wish to see it.
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APass4U Administration Details |
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APass4U Instructors FAQ |
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APass4U Instructor Agreement |
Attached to this article are a couple of documents that might explain how we work in more detail but if you want a chat please call Tony on 01702 307304 or drop us an email: tony@apass4u.co.uk.