Preaching to the Converted

Is it any wonder that less than 1% of ADI's take an active interest in the future of driving instruction or their career path, that CPD is a nasty word along with the equally unpopular business skills. The majority of driving instructors currently on the register have no up to date information or comprehension of the changes taking place.

National membership of associations is not representative of the majority, which suits the ministers because if every ADI became actively involved their hands would be tied and bowing to the majority would become a reality not a threat. Power is addictive, we all know that, human nature not nurture, adrenaline fuelled pleasure. So who is the real voice.

There is no voice, I have just been reading through a programme of an up and coming conference, which shall remain nameless. Every speaker in that list knows each other, the list of attendees, passed on is a list of familiar names, and as I know the majority I am comfortable that they also know each other. So is a conference about informing the ADI, getting the information out there and helping the World to be a better place, or is it about back slapping and secret hand shakes.

The EURSC are moving in to great change, the UK is hanging on the tails of this major upheaval, we have left it to the last gate to make changes in the UK, where other countries have embraced these moves sooner, the ultimate goal is to save lives, yet that has become diluted in a potential opportunity to market new qualifications to the ADI.  The shake up of the qualifying process, or maybe the shake down.  If the response to the consultation is as confirmed by the DFT to be a majority group of Government employees and members of the public, then the final word is out of the hands of those affected by it.

Should those who spend the majority of their time taking part in streamlining the future of the ADI and purporting to be representative be actively out there spreading the word, or is it just a case of if you're not in then close the door behind you.

When the DSA ran meetings around the country, which ADI's who have been in the industry post 2007 will know nothing of, the information was up to date, there were no fees to pay, and forecasts for the next ten years was common place, the conferences stopped because of the cost, yet the instructor who was not a member of any association could go, by invitation, and it cost nothing but time. Why are there no moves to reinstate this, particularly in this time of change? I shall tell you the answer to that in due course as the minister will be getting back to me on that one.

As tax payers, before we are ADI's, what do we get for our money, with potential charges for ADI errors, a fee for a standards check that we have to have anyway (hmm), the potential to have all elements of our qualification scrutinised and then of course there is the grading for the elite, pass or fail should be enough, then there is no need for the DSAVOSA group to publish anything, as self-employed people we are surely capable of advertising ourselves.

The converted do not need the preaching, the information or the time, the ones on the outside with their noses pressed against the glass who have no idea what the writing on the wall says, need our help more.