16/02/2026
Serious question for fellow driving instructors…
Why are we, on average, charging £35-£45 an hour?
Hairdressers are charging £60+ an hour.
Horse riding lessons? Nearly £100 an hour.
Personal trainers? £50-£80 an hour.
Therapists and coaches? £70-£150 an hour.
Trades? Plumbers, electricians, locksmiths - £80+ callouts are normal.
Even dog groomers in some areas are pushing £60 an hour.
And here’s the real question…
What do most of those roles not
carry?
A £20,000 to £40,000 business asset sitting on the road.
Fuel that rises every year
Tyres every few months
Servicing and repairs
Massive depreciation from high mileage
£300 licence renewal every 4 years
Specialist insurance
CPD and training to stay current
Lost earnings from cancellations and test delays
By the time our cars hit serious mileage, we’re the ones paying thousands just to stay working.
And yet…
We teach a skill for life.
We don’t sell a haircut that grows out.
We don’t sell a one-hour experience.
We don’t sell a single session outcome.
We create safe, independent drivers.
We reduce accidents.
We build confidence.
We change life opportunities for people, jobs, family care, freedom, independence. Imagine what we charge and how much this actually costs per day until people are 85 years old, it's just pennies!
And we carry responsibility every single second a learner is behind the wheel.
If we step back and look objectively…
Are we really a £35 an hour profession?
Or have we just accepted charging as low as possible… so we kept doing it? 12 years ago lessons were just under £20 on average. Think about things that have more than doubled since 2014!!
Other industries didn’t magically become higher paid.
They decided their time, skill, risk and overheads had value and they moved together.
Imagine an industry average of £85-£95an hour.
Not tomorrow.
Not overnight.
But as a united direction.
Because right now:
Costs are rising
Cars are getting more expensive
Insurance isn’t dropping
Tests are delayed (meaning longer learner journeys and more wear on vehicles), we are also putting ourselves at risk in case our students make dangerous faults out on the test, which examiners don't have to prevent and where we get penalised for!
And instructors are burning out
If we don’t start valuing ourselves properly, nobody else will do it for us.
This isn’t about greed.
It’s about sustainability.
It’s about attracting new instructors into the industry.
It’s about staying in business long term.
It’s about being paid fairly for a high-risk, high-skill, high-responsibility profession.
We are not just "people who sit in a car and talk."
We are educators.
Risk managers.
Coaches.
Decision-makers.
Safety professionals.
Maybe the real question isn’t "Can we charge £85-95?"
Maybe it’s…
"How long can we afford not to?"
