Instructors pay, have you given up and left?

[Philip Benstead]

When I started being a cycling instructor in 1998 I was paid £10 per after 2 years it went up to £12per hour.

In 2004 I was on £18 per hour, in 2023 I am still on £18per hour.

I am lucky, I have state pension

Question

Do you think we need a pay rise?

Do you think cycle instruction is a job for older people who have a other income or retired?

Would you go on strike for more money?


BTW I live and work in London.

[pedals2slowly]

You are very very lucky to get £18 per hour.
Worcestershire County Council pay about £11, no travel time payment just mileage.
I gave up because it interfered with retired life AND because Bikeability didn't seem to increase the number of children cycling.

[Nearholmer]

.

[Nearholmer]

I just had a google at the rates being paid by various councils outside London: £10 to £15/hr ….. which seems insultingly low for the responsibility involved to me, and £18/hr isn’t much better.

Do you think cycle instruction is a job for older people who have a other income or retired?

Ideally, it should be a job that a wide age range of people can take on, parents who want a job that matches school hours for instance, and ideally the instructors should be men and women of a fair age range …… kids respond differently to different people, and some might do better with a young woman than with an older man for instance.

But, leaving aside ideals, at those rates of pay, and bearing in mind that it is usually a very part-time role, the answer to your question must be: yes, because nobody else could afford to do it!

[pjclinch]

When I started being a cycling instructor in 1998 I was paid £10 per after 2 years it went up to £12per hour.

In 2004 I was on £18 per hour, in 2023 I am still on £18per hour.

I am lucky, I have state pension

Question

Do you think we need a pay rise?

It should be a viable profession with either a decent salary for a skilled worker or an hourly rate where enough hours are available to make a decent salary.

Do you think cycle instruction is a job for older people who have a other income or retired?

This is often the case I see in Scotland, and while there's nothing wrong with that (and to be honest I'm rather hoping it'll be a good option for me in a few years when I leave the NHS) it shouldn't need to be the norm. Folk I see doing it as a full time job tend to be fairly heavily involved across a number of cycling fronts, e.g. sport coaching, providing courses for public bodies etc.

When I've delivered at schools I've given my time for free, but delivering trainer-training for LAs there is a sensible hourly rate round here these days, last one I did (2018?) was £27/hr for an all-day course.

Would you go on strike for more money?

If it were my day-job and the rates were what you're getting, for presumably less hours than usually fit in a working day, yes.

Pete.

[Philip Benstead]

I am disappointed by the low number of replys. .

Does this mean
very few cycle instructors are me.bers of this forum
or they are satisfied with their pay.

[DevonDamo]

I am disappointed by the low number of replys. .

Does this mean
very few cycle instructors are me.bers of this forum
or they are satisfied with their pay.

I don't know, but I can think of two things you could try:
1. Acknowledge the responses that people have taken the trouble to give. That might generate more discussion/replies..
2. If you just want a high number of responses, rather than debate, consider starting a poll instead.

[pjclinch]

I am disappointed by the low number of replys. .

Does this mean
very few cycle instructors are me.bers of this forum
or they are satisfied with their pay.

Look at the traffic (typically tumbleweed if we're honest) on this sub-board and I'd say the first option is highly likely.

Not that I can offer better suggestions. I'm somewhat out of the loop since I've been back at my day-job full time so quite possible there's something I ought to know about but don't, but I don't know of a particular NS teaching forum where there's a lot of traffic. "Cycling Twitter" may be a better bet? e.g. https://twitter.com/suamirocha/status/1 ... 41570?s=20

Pete.

[Lance Dopestrong]

I charge 200 a student for the basic patrol officer course, and prices go upwards from there. Sounds good, but it's not all gravy - 8 students is my max, and from that £1600 I have to pay a similarly qualified rider to act as safety officer (I have a good friend faitly local and we cover for each other), potentially pay for a venue if they're coming to me, and out of anything left I have to pay fuel, my own insurance, annual MIAS and IPMBA membership, and ongoing training and assessment for myself.

Of that nominal £1600 I might have half left over for me, which is not a lot for 2 days work. And finally the taxman has a share (my daughter is an accountant and covers that said for me). I doubt I could do it if it were my only source of income, but fortunately I am retired and have 2 pensions and a third income stream, so I treat it more as a self finacing hobby,