How Much Do They Pay

david143 · Post by **david143** » 1 Jun 2008, 8:21am

adinigel wrote:Yes, those require specialist skills too.

When comparing salary, though, is the simple hourly rate the most relevant method? How many individual instructors are able to fill their week with work at this rate? I would guess at not many. So if the earning hours are not that high, then I see no reason why they shouldn't be paid at a good rate. Try comparing the annual salaries of these jobs. Perhaps a more realistic comparison would be with music teachers?

Nigel

OK, so every job requires specialist knowledge.

Salary is mostly based on what the market forces are for each job type. The easier it is to get others to do the job, ie. not years of training, the less the job generally pay.

Being a trainer requires a few weekend courses and test, if that, and the ability to ride by the highway code and CycleCraft. Similar then to the training and knowledge required for me to train motorcyclists just starting out.

Can anyone do it = No.

Can a lot of people do it = Yes.

Is it a £35 an hour job = No.

This of course is just my opinion. However, I would not pay £35, or £25, and I would still be hesitant at £20.

BTW- Someone who is good enough to be able to pass on musical instrument playing skills has taken years to get there, not a few weekends. Last time I had music lessons to sort out an issue I had it cost £20 an hour though.

nigel_s · Post by **nigel_s** » 1 Jun 2008, 11:05am

Having just taken my daughter to her weekly guitar lesson, I can confirm that £20 an hour is the going rate.

And, yes, if the hourly rate was more than that then we would indeed hesitate.

As someone else has stated, it's market forces rather than training that finally sets the price in the end.

adinigel · Post by **adinigel** » 1 Jun 2008, 11:23am

bikeboy wrote:Just for the record, I think a childs life is priceless, I just wouldn't charge it!!

Ok, great. How should cycle trainers find money to live on then?

Do you also think doctors & nurses should do their work for free?

I happen to agree that £35 per hour is a little high, the highest I charge for a driving lesson (learners) at the moment is £26 per hour.

One of the problems is that cycle training has been carried by volunteers in the past and so many people baulk at the thought of paying for something that used to be free. But why should people spend their spare time on this? Why shouldn't people be able to do cycle training as a career and be paid a reasonable salary for doing so?

The rates will come down over the next few years as more people become trainers.

Nigel

annief · Post by **annief** » 1 Jun 2008, 2:08pm

Adinigel wrote: The rates will come down over the next few years as more people become trainers.

I don't think this will happen unless the number of people wanting to be trained rises significantly. I think we don't have a culture in the UK of recognising the need to be trained to ride a bike on busy roads yet, it's just something people do - they buy a bike and ride it, often badly. In Oxford, the number of cycle instructors is rising exponentially, yet the clients are few and far between making for a climate of not totally happy elbowing for room. There may be a change if the county council takes on Bikeability and professional trainers but that is some way off.

It's really shocking to think of trainers being paid the minimum wage. In Oxford some people charge £25 an hour, some £20. The local cycling campaign group is charging £50 for a course of 4 lessons.

ianr1950 · Post by **ianr1950** » 2 Jun 2008, 9:33am

annief wrote:Adinigel wrote: The rates will come down over the next few years as more people become trainers.

I don't think this will happen unless the number of people wanting to be trained rises significantly. I think we don't have a culture in the UK of recognising the need to be trained to ride a bike on busy roads yet, it's just something people do - they buy a bike and ride it, often badly. In Oxford, the number of cycle instructors is rising exponentially, yet the clients are few and far between making for a climate of not totally happy elbowing for room. There may be a change if the county council takes on Bikeability and professional trainers but that is some way off.

It's really shocking to think of trainers being paid the minimum wage. In Oxford some people charge £25 an hour, some £20. The local cycling campaign group is charging £50 for a course of 4 lessons.

I don't think that the 'skills' actually warrant being paid much more than the minimum wage but as long as there are people who think that it is worth whatever is being asked then ok, it is their money not mine.

adinigel · Post by **adinigel** » 3 Jun 2008, 6:40am

ianr1950 wrote:....I don't think that the 'skills' actually warrant being paid much more than the minimum wage but as long as there are people who think that it is worth whatever is being asked then ok, it is their money not mine.

Would you have the same opinion on Driving Instruction too?

I think it's a shame you rate road safety and people's lives so low.

Nigel

ianr1950 · Post by **ianr1950** » 3 Jun 2008, 9:26am

adinigel wrote:
ianr1950 wrote:....I don't think that the 'skills' actually warrant being paid much more than the minimum wage but as long as there are people who think that it is worth whatever is being asked then ok, it is their money not mine.

Would you have the same opinion on Driving Instruction too?

I think it's a shame you rate road safety and people's lives so low.

Nigel

You are assuming that someone else rates road safety as a lower prority than yourself.
You are not comparing like for like but then why am I not surprised that you do so.
It takes a lot more training and expertise to become a driving instructor so do you think it would be alright for someone to be a one with the same amount of training it takes to be a cycle trainer.

nigel_s · Post by **nigel_s** » 3 Jun 2008, 12:40pm

ianr1950 wrote:It takes a lot more training and expertise to become a driving instructor ...

...and a DI's overheads are somewhat higher, don't forget.

pops · Post by **pops** » 27 Jun 2008, 11:41pm

Part of the problem is it takes very few skills to become a trainer - but being a good trainer is actually a fairly skilled job with quite a bit of responsibility. As I've said elsewhere on this board when I did my training in Leicester - provided by York - I wouldn't have trusted some people on the course to supervise my kids on the road as some of them weren't capable of riding safely in traffic themselves - yet they all passed.

adinigel · Post by **adinigel** » 29 Jun 2008, 8:30pm

pops wrote:....yet they all passed.

That's worrying

Nigel

essexman · Post by **essexman** » 5 Sep 2008, 1:54pm

i'm no trainer... but am considering starting own business. Cant you juts charge what people are prepared to pay? Why should there be a min and a max? Sure have a comparison chat, but if someones got business paying £35 an hour then good luck to em.

ianr1950 · Post by **ianr1950** » 5 Sep 2008, 4:08pm

adinigel wrote:
pops wrote:....yet they all passed.

That's worrying

Nigel

You are assuming here that POPS was one of the good ones, are you sure he isn't one of those who aren't capable of riding in traffic themselves.

keepontriking · Post by **keepontriking** » 8 Sep 2008, 1:38pm

essexman wrote:i'm no trainer... but am considering starting own business. Cant you juts charge what people are prepared to pay?

It doesn't quite work like that.
Today I had a Mum throw her arms up in horror at £30 for 6 hours training.
if she won't even invest that amount in her child's safety then I'm afraid she will miss out.