On Friday 2/6/17 I attended an event by the DVSA, part of
which was to ask for the opinion of the attendees as to how the Official
Register of Driving Instructor Training (ORDIT) could be improved. About 30 attendees started to voluntarily
give their opinions, passions were clearly high and the DVSA representatives
took turns to right down the points on a flip-chart for their own records.
I have since spent the weekend reflecting on the subject,
and this blog details my own opinion of why the ‘status’ of ORDIT is where it
is at and more importantly how it can be improved.
Let me start by putting context around the problem that the
DVSA are attempting to solve. Many years
ago, the DVSA set up a voluntary register of “approved” trainers who provide
training for trainee driving instructors (known as PDI’s “potential driving
instructor” in the industry). It was
generally accepted back then that there were some pretty low standards of
training occurring. Very experienced trainers that I listened to on Friday were
stating that the scheme has no standing or recognition in the industry or by
the public who are trying to choose a provider for their training.
The temptation then is to find ways of raising the awareness
of the public about the register and also to raise the perceived value of the
members who are on it. This is a
mistake. One fundamental flaw in the
DVSA approach is that they consistently under estimate the power of market
forces. This may be linked to the fact
that it is a governmental organisation and culturally they have little need to provide
a service aligned to customer needs. But
the problem is that the members listed on the ORDIT register ARE very much
aware of market forces; whilst being a member linked with the DVSA may in theory
project an aura of positivity, customers rarely place such importance on these
things. Customers have a need, and they
want to find a supplier that will satisfy that need.
The industry is therefore customer oriented, and natural
market forces apply. It really does not
assist at all when talking about ORDIT to ignore this fact; many extremely
successful trainers of PDI’s will NOT be on ORDIT and whilst that might be an
annoyance to some, it is a fact that should not be ignored. Eventually then, the question starts to
evolve into what can the DVSA do to attract successful trainers to ORDIT whilst
at the same time declining membership to trainers who are not successful. The DVSA has a need to make ORDIT relevant to
customers (PDI’s).
What are the measures of success? In a normal business interaction, a good
measure of success is how well a business meets the needs of the customer. Satisfied customers makes for happy customers
makes for successful businesses, in general terms. If a PDI wants to qualify, then it is logical
to suggest that success will be achieved when that PDI passes the qualification
process which are the 3 tests set by the DVSA.
It is very common to hear in the industry about “pass rates” – these will
be providers who are very much driven to meet their customers immediate needs
of passing the 3 tests. Once that is
completed we have one happy newly qualified driving instructor – value added,
job done.
The industry has two big problems with that approach, one is
staring it full ahead in the face, the other is hiding in the background
desperately trying not to be noticed and in the main, the industry does its
utmost to ignore it.
The first big problem is that less than 30% of PDI’s who
come into the training industry are qualifying.
The second big problem is the turnover of approved driving instructors (ADI)….
we can see from DVSA statistics how many new ADI’s are coming into the industry
per month and we can also see how the register numbers are reducing each
month. People in the industry generally
don’t want to acknowledge either of these problems, but given the fact that
less than 30% of PDI’s actually qualify, the industry DEFINITELY doesn’t want
to acknowledge the second problem – that would raise serious questions of
fitness for purpose. That would begin to
raise the issue of accountability.
So there we have a certain type of problem about retention. Despite a regular and dependable number of
newly qualified driving instructors starting up each month, how many of them
are actually surviving in the industry?
What is it about the market conditions that means so many ADI’s are
closing down their driving schools? Ideally, the DVSA would be willing to
undertake an “exit interview” when an ADI closes a driving school and attempt
to establish the causes. For sure there
will be a natural number of retirements and these should be expected, but the
industry really should do more to discover the reasons why driving schools of
less than 2 years in the industry close down.
The reason why the DVSA has an
obligation to discover these reasons is because they are attempting to develop
ORDIT into a meaningful register of training providers; the members within it
training PDI’s NOT just to pass tests.
Another problematical aspect of the driving training
industry is still centred around the customer needs regarding their desire to
pass tests versus the standard of training they receive. The DVSA have produced driving standards that
set the expectations of the quality of training required by driving instructors
for learners, but not by trainers for PDI’s.
Historically, this issue has been fuelled by a rather obtuse assessment
on the “Part 3” instructional test whereby the “goal” was tending to be
focussed on the controlling elements required to manage a role-playing
examiner, rather than the skills needed to provide value to a learner driver. Providers have been given a free reign to
train PDI’s to just pass the test, the consequence being that PDI’s are
actively encouraged to train learners also just to pass the test too. The assessment criteria for this Part 3 test
is due to become aligned with the same assessment undertaken every 4 years or
so to monitor driving instructors (known as “Standards Check”). In effect the “what” is changing but there is
still an open house on the “how”, the methodology by which PDI’s are trained to
develop key skills to teach learners.
When I think of training PDI’s I see no difference at all
with how I train learner drivers. My
approach has always been to align the training to the individual needs as we
all have differing backgrounds and starting points. There isn’t the means in the assessment
process to demonstrate differing approaches to learning that are specifically
designed for a pupil. The one off
assessment is just not geared up to accommodate this point. Ultimately, this is one of the key
ingredients that affects successful outcomes.
A PDI will still be able to be trained to provide value for a pupil with
‘average’ capabilities and needs, but many pupils have definite learning needs. Some pupils will respond to verbal
instruction better than others, some will require explanations of key concepts
in a particular way to be meaningful, some will have more experience of
effective learning techniques than others and on it goes. The willingness and ability of pupils to
consider the responsibilities of safe driving and have some awareness of their
strengths and weaknesses vary considerably.
The methods to be adopted in order to achieve long-lasting safe driving techniques
and continued learning post-test, are numerous and not simple. Pupils
respond differently to varying methodology.
This is why one trainer suggested on Friday that to be on ORDIT a
trainer must have a qualification in teaching.
And these unique needs are equally true for training of PDI’s. Some PDI’s would vehemently dislike the
thought of role-playing when training in-car for example and yet there will be
trainers who have solely used this methodology forcing it upon PDI’s for years. For some PDI’s the last time they experienced
a formal learning environment might have been 30 years ago before the needs of
everyday living; they may be totally unaware of modern learning techniques that
will assist them and some of their future pupils.
Most people will be able to recognise that the long term effectiveness
of training is not a given. Developing a
PDI so that they can teach an “average” learner how to drive (Levels 1 & 2
of the GDE matrix) is really not difficult.
Setting up that PDI to deliver on their Part 3 assessment an effective
driving lesson for said learner is really not difficult. What the DVSA need to consider is how they
can accurately distinguish between the true effectiveness of driving instructors
when they assess them; it is not smart to think that the ability of a PDI to
facilitate learning can be assessed by looking at how they interact with one pupil.
This point is not lost on the DVSA, their own standards tell driving
instructors how we are expected to differentiate between the needs of pupils.
If there was the ability of the DVSA to identify this higher
class of trainer, then that would truly be something of value to a PDI because
if a PDI is able to work in the industry with the ability to manage a range of
client’s needs, then they become a valued commodity. It is that kind of performance measure that
differentiates the good from the average.
“Teaching” a pupil how to drive by way of “compliance led instruction”
is ineffective and contributes nothing to standards of road safety – the DVSA
would be doing the industry well to create an ORDIT that enables the public to
see the results of higher standards in training.
http://drivinginstructortraining.bigtom.org.uk/
http://drivinginstructortraining.bigtom.org.uk/
I was an adi for 10 years a consistent grade 5 with excellent pass rate. I wanted to take on a second career so asked to suspend my licence. I was unaware that my time was up and i requested my licence back 13 months after suspension. They told me i couldn't have it back and i would need to retrain from scratch. I have been forced to continue with another career when i truly wanted to remain an instructor. There is one reason for it. I wasnt offered an interview, i sure wish i was.
ReplyDeleteHi Richard. That's a great example of the value of exit interviews... tom
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