From shop to training car
Want to take driving lessons? Chances are that the driving instructor once sold beer or clothing. The training to become a driving instructor attracts a growing number of lateral entrants from the catering industry and retail, reports De Telegraaf.
“Traditionally, the driving instructor training program has many lateral entrants, about 80% of all students,” says director Gijs Kantelberg of the Traffic Academy. “All our students involve retraining, or people who are making a career change. The average age of our students is between 40 and 45 years old.”
Nevertheless, according to Kantelberg, there is a major shift within the group of lateral entrants. “Until corona, almost all of the new students in our course had a job in transport or public transport. The driving instructor training course was also very popular among people from the military. During corona, this completely changed. Suddenly we saw a huge influx from the catering industry. Previously, that sector rarely supplied us with students. Now, in addition to the catering industry, we also see many people from retail and ‘sales’ as a common discipline from which lateral entrants come. People from the field: representatives and account managers, for example. They are receiving increasingly higher targets and more pressure on their shoulders, which makes them opt for an independent life as a driving instructor. They want to start their own business.”
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl