So you have been thinking of becoming a driving instructor whether that's because you want a career change or to retrain? A fresh start with fresh opportunities? Or have you been made redundant, and want a fresh career change. This information may just help you decide if a career in driving tuition is for you.
BubbLe Driving School is a leading driving school in Bristol / South Gloucestershire area. BubbLe Driving School have over the last 18+ years grown with a dedicated professional team of instructors who are here to help everyone succeed.
So, Why become a driving instructor?
The benefits and rewards more than speak for themselves. Just check out some the reasons below:
At BubbLe Driving School we have the highest possible success rate for driving instructors qualifying with a maintained success rate of 100% and to date we have never had a candidate fail their training or ADI Part 3 Qualifying exam. In fact, 61% of our team of instructors at BubbLe were trained by us and continue to work with us since qualifying as a Advanced Driving Instructor (ADI).
We have ongoing training programs throughout the year that is customized to your own needs* With a combined knowledge of 24+years training Driving Instructors, we will certainly be to train you up to the standards we set out to make you succeed in the courses we deliver and the career path you choose.
Please choose the links below to find out more information on costs, how the test and training works, and current case studies from previous candidates to help you make this the right decision for you.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my training with Bubble. I immediately felt part of the Bubble family. Russ has such a wealth of knowledge, and the whole team is very supportive and friendly. They freely offer advice and share their experiences. I passed all my exams first time, which I don't feel I could have done without their excellent training. I have been working for Bubble for a few years now, and feel as supported now as I did when i first started"
Charmaine Cowley
Well quite frankly yes. Yes, you can, Since COVID-19 shut down the world in March 2020 the current crisis created a monster shortfall in driving instructors nationwide. It is estimated it will take 2-4 years for our industry to fully recover from its effects and an injection of 25,000 new Driving instructors on top of the UK recorded 40,00 driving instructors to just meet the high demands now.
BubbLe Driving School Ltd is so confidant you will qualify. And as the most scary part of a career change is the cost to train, we are now offering not only pay as you go on training, but spreading out half your training costs on pay as you go.
What this does this means?
When you start your journey to become a instructor, instead of paying the full pay as you go hourly rate, you only pay 50% of the training fee during your training session, and then we spread the other 50% when you start teaching as a P.D.I or A.D.I on a weekly basis for how ever many weeks you wish too.
With the cost of living being everyone's concern, the rate of inflation, we are offering this to help you. To give you the fantastic chance to make the leap of faith and retrain into what is a very rewarding job, in satasfaction and income and work life balance.
As a family business we do listen and understand. So contact us today and start your journey to becoming a fantastic driving instructor.
How much will it cost me?
How long is a ball of string? All of our courses are tailored to your indvidual needs and requirments. Some may only need basic training, some may need alot of training. But your always able to discuss with your trainer how you are progressing as a trainee. For the real basic course prices please see next secition as we go into further detail on prices fees etc...
As a company, we believe in offering the best value for the candidate, and all our training is on a 'pay as you go' basis. But, more than this, we know that full on in car practical training on a one to one basis is the best way to maximise your studying, giving you ample feedback and helping you to succeed in qualifying. Unlike like national driving schools who offer cheap training deal's, or, virtual training with book/folder/binder based training only, we know that these courses offered grossly under prepares most. However we must point out to you we are not expensive but a family run buisiness who wants the best for all of our trainees and instructors at all times.
BubbLe Driving School firmly believe that physical real world, in car training and face to face sessions is the ultimate key to your success as a driving instructor. All of our previous successful canidates (instructors) over the years have proven beyond doubt that our methods in ADI training will bring your sucess to your goal of becoming a full ADI.
The only advanced fee (upfront cost) required from you which covers the value of the course material books that we source for you to use for your part one, two, and three training, and your DBS check which is done through the DVSA and is the only check they recognise.
Click here to apply for your DBS today with the DVSA
With your practical training lessons, you will be asked to pay for the sessions as you go, and we will work at your own pace for the training. Whether you wish to accomplish this in three months or two years is entirely in your control. There is no pressure on you from us.
So what are my upfront costs?
Training costs Starting from £2,454*
The price mentioned is the most basic level to qualify, Breaking the cost down it includes:
As mentioned above, we are a pay as you go throughout the whole training process, but we are doing it at 50% cost during training with the remaining 50% when your on the road teaching and earning to help everyone with these current unstable times.
Though it can be achievable to pass on a basic requirements level, it is commonly known that this route is extremely difficult to pass as it requires a lot of dedication and focus in your own self learning and may lead to candidates taking multiple tests due to insufficient training. This, compared to the PDI Badge route, (earn as you learn) is the most successful training route and will give you more experience and support in passing your test with in car tuition on a one to one level, indepth reports and reviews, and feedback from your dedicated ADI trainer, who will also sit in on some your lessons to observe.
*The price quoted doesn't include any corrective driving sessions that may be needed to help you succeed in passing your Part 2 Practical driving test (as you may need a couple of hours or 10 hours plus), or your application fee for your earn as you learn Pink badge (PDI) which is payable to the DVSA, or mandatory 20hrs teaching sessions whilst on pink badge, or, any extra training sessions you may require. Please see Test fees.
What is a P.D.I (Provisional Driving Instructor) and A. D. I (Advanced Driving Instructor) Badge?
So, how does the license badging works?
Well, our training programs are designed in a way to maximize your learning time while you aim to qualify altogether. We Advise all our clients when they have passed their part 2 and have the mandatory 40 hours recorded to go on to the P.D.I Badge while they continue their training for part three.
The P.D.I badge is crucial to our training program for you. This will allow you to practice the skills you have been learning, your teaching knowledge that you have been studying, and are being taught, And it means you can start to earn. Now the legal part of this is you can only go on a P.D.I badge with a driving school sponsors you. AKA is reliable and liable for you until you qualify, Again you can then be out teaching-learning and homing in your skills and trying different techniques.
When you qualify, you apply and are issued by the DVLA your ADI badge. Congratulations, you are now fully equipped and have successfully qualified as a driving instructor and have worked hard to achieve this. This will allow you to work without sponsorship and, on your own, as a driving instructor. It will also enable you to progress your career over the years as well. But, always remember you have to sit the Standard check test, AKA, part 3, every couple of years. It is the DVSA way of checking up on you and making sure you are still teaching to a good/high standard standard.
Here are some testimonials on the PDI badge from a few of our recent Instructors who passed with us:
“I can’t imagine becoming an ADI without using a provisional licence. Skills that I’d learned in role-play were tested for real and you quickly learn for yourself what works and what you need to improve on, because you have to! It wasn’t easy but it was the right decision for me to try different methods on my own then reconvene with my trainer. It meant I could take a genuine pupil on my test that I knew I had a good rapport with. And I was able to start earning right away with only 20 hours of additional supervision to pay for, instead of double to pay and no income if you choose the pure training route.”
Marcus Sheppard
Alex MacArthur - 2021
I've worked with Bubble Driving School for 3 years when i first joined, then i left on to other things and have rejoined them years later, but i had to leave again due to family issues, but again rejoined for a 3rd time back in may 2018.
Russ trained me way back 13 years ago, and the trainee even back then was superb. Russ and Jennie were attentive to detail, and really helped me be the professional person i am now.
I have more than enjoyed working with both Russ, Jennie, and Tim very much. They are all very supportive and will always make the time to listen to you and help in which ever way they! Jennie and Russ work very hard to promote the company and have been very successful in doing this over the last few months, but also keeping us involved in decisions and taking on board any concerns or ideas we have.
The franchise is very reasonable and suits my needs, the car designs are good fun, which does reflect with the instructors that work with Bubble, they are a great bunch of people to work with, and it makes doing what can be a lonely job much easier! They even have their own dedicated chat group to me for issues, but also a very supportive team group for all to help guide and have a laugh too.
During the pandemic, Russell went above and beyond with me and everyone in the bubble family, They worked with us all on devising a safe COVID-19 policy that would protect myself and my family as well as the bubble clients.
You were a huge part of me getting through my part 3 on my pink license, any trainee would greatly benefit from you and Bubble's help. It is a good company to train with and work with, with consistent work and it is great being part of such a wonderful team.
Marcus Sheppard
I chose to train with Bubble after talking to another qualified instructor who franchises with them.
I liked that you can take the course at your own pace so you can do as much private practice as you need between sessions. Bubble has multiple ADI trainers so you have the option of lessons with different instructors if you want to see different teaching styles. I found this useful in developing my own style.
Now I'm instructing on a provisional licence and preparing for my final exam. I enjoy the freedom and flexibility of setting my own hours and the one-on-one teaching environment. The best part is the satisfaction when pupils pass, knowing you have helped them acquire an important life skill. BubbLe driving school are now pleased to say Marcus in now a fully quailified ADI.
Sarah Blandford
My husband Chris, has been working with BubbLe for a good few years now, and I decided to also follow in his foot steps and become a driving instructor. I had training with Alex, and I was very nervous as I wasn’t too sure what the training would involve.
Alex made me feel comfortable and challenged me when I asked to be challenged. She got me to do the briefings first and to see how I would explain it and then she would give feedback on it and then show me how she would do the briefings so I could see the difference. There was points in the training where I felt I was hitting a brick wall, but Alex assured me that it is a lot to take in and do but I would get it with practice and confidence.
We laughed at the silly mistakes I was making, but she made clear what the implications would be if the instructions weren’t clear or if I didn’t step in. Near to the end I started to build my confidence with instructing and have the coinfindance in my teaching abilities. I was on a PDI badge as the trainers say, the earn as you learn part, and I was with clients as well as advancing my training all building to my part 3 test to be fully qualified ADI, and thanks to Bubble and me being a PDI, i fully qualified November 2019 on my first attempt on my part 3 exam. I now thoroughly love my new job. Thanks Alex and BubbLe, defiantly worth the risk, and its paid off, all my training done in 7 months and at my own pace too.
Daniel Ashmead
I recently passed my part 3 exam and I’m now a fully qualified ADI. The course was very rewarding but challenging. You will need to put in the time and effort to get the best results.
The whole experience has been very good Bubble are very friendly and professional. Both Russ and Alex made the training enjoyable, informative and easy to follow. They are very helpful, professional and very knowledgeable. They give great advice and feedback. Working on a couple of things at a time, so not to overload my brain. They are always there to offer advice and any help you need, even outside the training hours.
I would certainly recommend the training to anyone who wishes to pursue a career as a driving instructor. Bubble are more like a family, couldn't ask for a nicer bunch of people.
I really enjoy the job it gives me great flexibility and I enjoy a very healthy work life balance. You get to meet new people and give them the skills in driving for the rest of their lives. There is nothing better than helping someone and seeing them achieve their goals and pass the driving test. Complete job satisfaction.
Hassan Syed
The instructors who trained me at Bubble Driving School, namely Russell and Richard were exceptional, I cannot rate them more highly. Their guidance was invaluable leading up to the part 3 exam. They were able to quickly identify my wrongdoings and give me sound advice of how to improve, even when I struggled they showed great patience which I learnt is a vital virtue to have as an instructor. I highly recommend to anyone looking to become an ADI to use Bubble Driving School. They also worked around my availability for my training. And being on a pay as you go basis after buying the course material books, I was really pleased and didn't felt rushed or pressured. This has now been the best career decission I have ever made.
Daniel Malik
I have found training with Bubble Driving School as a great experience that prepared me well for a new role and career change from being a head chef.
It was very easy to organize and schedule training sessions with Richard and Russell who were flexible with the limited time I had whilst working my full-time job in the interim of training.
They did show a lot of engagement, patience, and passion as well as we're sharing a lot of tips and advice from their huge experience as instructors.
I have been put in various situations and various ways of reaching and dealing with different needs of pupils.
I have already recommended Bubble to one of the new PDI under training Lukasz.
Also, I have an opportunity to talk and compare my training to the one that my wife received years ago elsewhere, yes my wife is also an instructor with BubbLe too, and based on that I think I have received a lot more me-focused one to one training.
Plus the never-ending possibility to ask for advice nowadays,
Job so far I have found great, sometimes challenging experience but immense satisfaction.
I do enjoy teaching people a lifetime skill and it brings great joy and satisfaction to see their progress and them passing their practical test
Rob Stokes:
Russ and Jennie have been incredibly supportive and the training for my part 3, has been fantastic. I am so glad that I decided to change my career, and that I chose Bubble Driving School
I f you would like to learn more about becoming a Driving Instructor please complete our ADI Enquiry Form here and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.
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