
How do you become an ADI, and what does the role involve?
So, you’re thinking about becoming a driving instructor?
There’s never been a better or busier time to come into the driving school industry! We were already busy pre Covid, but since Covid there has been a massive backlog of people of all ages wanting, and more importantly needing to learn to drive. As a result, demand is far outstripping supply, and most instructors are fully booked and have long waiting lists.
To legally provide paid for driving instruction you must be qualified as an ADI – An Approved Driving Instructor, or a PDI – Potential Driving Instructor (often referred to as a trainee instructor).
Learn what it takes to become an Approved Driving Instructor
Here you will find all the information you need to be able to make an informed decision as to whether training to become an ADI is right for you, and everything you need to know about how to choose a training provider, and ultimately achieve the qualification to a new career.
Our training structure and costs are simple, open, and transparent, with no hidden terms and conditions.
We are a local family-based company rather than a large national company, and our business has thrived through our reputation as a quality driver and instructor training provider, providing a very personal service. Therefore, it is in our interest to recruit the right people for the job, look after them, and ensure they receive the best possible training in order to deliver the best quality to our customers.
Do your research before committing
There is a lot of information available online and through social media content. However, to be successful in the qualification process, and become a good standard of ADI log-term there is no substitution for one-to-one training with a good trainer.
It’s important before committing to any training course that you fully understand what the training involves, including exactly what type and amount of training you will receive, how long training will take, who will be delivering your training, and what financial and time commitments you are going to have to make in order to complete the course. Find out about ELITE and our trainers, our flexible training options, and everything we offer here.
Choose the trainer that is right for you
This is a very personable, and learn through experience process.
When training with ELITE you will be trained and looked after by our dedicated ORDIT trainer (Official Register of Driving Instructor Trainers) and company director Ian Sedgwick, who has been an ADI since 1999.
All training is provided in car, and one trainee to one trainer (not shared). We often have trainees come to us that have already undertaken training elsewhere. Some have had no consistency with their training, contractually run out of time to complete their training due to unrealistic or unreasonable time scales. Some simply haven’t clicked with their trainer, or their teaching style didn’t match the needs of the PDI. Or it may be because their trainers are not local, or their trainers don’t actually work for the company they signed up with, and are freelanced trainers working for a third party provider. So they’ve not always had the same trainer, or there doesn’t seem to have been dedication of the trainer in the interest of the PDI or the business. It is also important that you find out what experience your trainer has. Many trainees have recently reported being trained by ADIs that have only recently qualified themselves, and there has been clear gaps in their knowledge. Some training providers also provide some or all of their Part 3 training remotely online in various formats.
Be wary of cheap ADI training courses!
There is often a reason courses are sold cheap, and in many cases it’s about selling quantity of courses, not quality of course. This a big contributing factor of why the official DVSA pass rates (as at October 2024) are only:
- Part 1 45%
- Part 2 59%
- Part 3 35%
In contrast, ELITE’s pass rates are over 90% for all three parts, with many of our ADIs passing all three parts on first attempts.
According to the GOV.uk website, an ADI is someone who:
All of these are true, but in addition, amongst many other attributes you’ll also need to ask yourself whether you are:
- A good driver
- Understanding of basic vehicle mechanics
- Patient
- Knowledgeable of the highway code
- Time efficient
- Analytical
- Versatile
- Presentable
- Flexible
- Professional
- Trustworthy
- Reasonably IT literate
- Understanding
- Able to communicate
- Organised
- Knowledgeable of teaching techniques
- Open minded
- Non-judgemental
- Sympathetic
- Able to run their own self-employed business
A good structure for ADI’s to follow is the systematic training cycle:
This is a very personable, and learn through experience process.
Competence 1:
Determine the needs of your learner drive, plan and prepare the training.
Competence 2:
Delivery of the training, and in terms of driving tuition, focusing on safety
Competence 3:
Evaluate and assess the effectiveness of the training
The ADI qualification process
To become an Approved Driving Instructor you must satisfy the requirements set out in the National standard for driver and rider training, and pass each of the three Driving Standards Agency qualification tests that you must pass in order to become an Approved Driving Instructor, otherwise know as an ADI. These tests are known as the ADI Part 1 – advanced theory test.
ADI Part 2 – test of driving ability to a high standard
ADI Part 3 – the test of instructional ability. Here we explain each test in more detail.
You can take the Part 1 test as many times as needed to pass, although it will cost you £99 (as at April 2024) a time, so it’s not worth taking it unless you are fully prepared. The Part 2 and Part 3 tests are limited to three attempts each, and you must pass all three tests within two years of passing Part 1. If you fail Part 2 or Part 3 three times you will have to wait for the two-year anniversary of passing Part 1, and start the process again. If you do not pass Part 3 within those 2 years you will also have to start the process again.
Trainee licence option
Here we explain what the PDI (Potential Driving Instructor) trainee licence is, what the benefits of it are, and what the conditions are if you decide to apply for one.
It is important to remember that although you can start your career on a trainee licence, and start teaching real life learners for 6 months, and start to earn a living whilst doing so, that the main reason for taking a trainee licence is to gain experience whilst continuing with ongoing training to develop your skills.
Training to become an ADI with ELITE
It’s important before committing to any training course that you fully understand what the training involves, including exactly what type and amount of training you will receive, how long training will take, who will be delivering your training, and what financial and time commitments you are going to have to make in order to complete the course.
Our training structure is fair, transparent, and designed to help committed people into our industry, and build our business as a reputable and quality driving school. We are a family run business, that has steadily grown since 2008 to now having a team of over 20 great ADIs, all of whom have been trained by us. ELITE’s instructor trainer is the company founder and director Ian Sedgwick. He has been an ORDIT (Official Register of Driving Instructor Trainers) registered trainer for over 20 years. ORDIT means that he has undergone further training, testing, and accreditation by the DVSA (Driver and vehicle Standards Agency) to ensure we are providing the highest standards of training to PDIs (Potential Driving Instructors). He also undertakes regular CPD (Continual Professional Development) himself. As a result, you will receive personalised training and advice throughout the qualification process.