Becoming a Cycle Trainer

I will look into it.
I'd prefer to do this through some form of charitable organisation or somewhere where forum members are present - just to make better use of my money.

CRB is only the last 5 years, so shouldnt be too much trouble.
Katy-Coo on here has volunteered with Bike It officers in London, and is also doing various paid training work.
Suggest you p.m her, and also call 020 7017 2358 which is the Sustrans Faringdon office, ask to speak to either Andy Casson, or James Scott, they may be able to help offer some experience too.
good luck.

Perfect.

we will get you working in cycling,
wont be able to spend as much time on here though ;-)

Good. I'm sure the quality of the forum will improve.

If there only was a place with a creche - I'd work for nothing just to have bit of a break :-) Even tomorrow.

Kris, the LCC is also always looking for good office volunteers. Unfortunately, we don't have a crèche, but challenging tasks available galore if you want to get some quality work in. Always busy.

The new look newsletter for instructors, this has lots of links in it, so if youre looking for work, courses and general other info that is given to all instructors registered with C.T.C -its here.
http://ebm.email.ctc.org.uk/c/tag/BMGhMwB7uaWDB8LV7PNVreh77p/doc.html?t_params=REMOVE%3Drm-0bxewbrebgwmcycau294krq8yu7zewq%2540email.ctc.org.uk

So, I'm now a partially accredited instructor (in theory - waiting for feedback from the course). The big question for me is "what next?"

A couple of organisations have me 'on file' and maybe some work will come from them over the summer. This seems to be the way to go to get CRB checked and the HSE qualification. Setting up on my own seems pointless because the local borough offers free training through an established provider. My big worry is that the six months will come and go and I won't have worked enough to be confident in completing the PCAs. Thoughts/advice on maintaining the momentum?

If anyone is considering the 4-day course, I'd be happy to write up some thoughts on it while it's fresh.

well done, hope you had a good time on the course.
look out for work in all your local Boroughs (you are in London?) and make calls proactively to other providers if you are willing to travel a bit to do schools work,
some operators will drive all over the place for big contracts
http://www.bikeability.org.uk/downloads/List_Of_Accredited_Training_Providers.pdf
http://www.020.co.uk/c/cycle-training/london.shtml
heres a couple of links, heaps more firms out there, depends how much you want to work, and how flexible you can be, I was earning £90 day rate in 2005 doing this.
good luck.

Yup, in London. That's pretty much what I'm doing - thanks for the lists though, can never have enough.

Aufbrach: Sorry for the late reply. There isn't really a straightforward career path after you have qualified. The jobs are there but you have to be very active in finding them. The more determined and self motivated you are the better you will get on. The links on this forum will take you to the people you need to be contacting.
Summer is the best time to find work. Cycle Training is very seasonal and it doesn't help when the winter is as rough as the last one was. So get looking now.
I would recommend you contact Bikeworks in Tower Hamlets if you will be able to get over there from wherever you live. I've had plenty of Saturday work out of them as have others who are more recently qualified. You do not have to be fully accredited.
Being willing to work at the weekend will certainly be a bonus as will being able to work at relatively short notice during the week. It can be difficult to fit in these opportunities if you have a regular 9-5 job.
Essentially if you really really want to work as an instructor then you will succeed. I know quite a few people who have done the course but let it slip afterwards. Stick with it, accept that you may not get all the work you want straight away and take anything you can; the more experience you gather the better you will progress.
Good luck.

Oh and yes, a write up on the course would be very interesting to read.

Thanks Will. I'm in SW London so Bikeworks isn't an easy option but there are a couple of people I know locally that might be able to help. Motivation isn't a problem.

People can read the syllabus for whichever course you are applying for online so I won't bother with the "day 1 we did xxxxx" but some thoughts:

Make sure it's the right course for you. If you want to learn more about mechanics, do a course that covers that. The 4-day course is meant to teach people how to deliver National Standard cycle training and that's what it does. It won't teach you how to install a headset.

Make sure you do actually meet the person specification for the course - you really should be a confident and competent cyclist. Whilst playing a weaving/leapfrog game someone on my course crashed into me. This was at slow speed and off-road. I was also terrified that they were going to die at least 3 times over the 4 days. The really worrying thing is that they have probably now got a provisional pass and are able to teach people.

You will need to work hard after the course has finished. It won't teach you everything but it will give you a lot of things to consider and work on. I really enjoyed it and it covers a huge range of information very effectively over a relatively short amount of time.

[QUOTE=aufbruch;1505420]
The really worrying thing is that they have probably now got a provisional pass and are able to teach people.

They wont, dont worry, if an instructor trainer has any doubts about someones ability,
they get referred and have to come back again.
Knowing a few instructor trainers, it isnt in their interests to pass a certain amount of people for performence pay or anything, so the standard should remain correct.

Awesome. I would hope this was the case.

Here are details for up coming Cycle Training UK instructor courses for anyone who is thinking about it

Here are our Cycle Instructor Training courses in August.

CTUK IT 74 August 3, 10, 17, 24 (every Tuesday)
CTUK IT 80 August 16, 17, 18, 19

From 9.30-5pm at our training centre in SE16

If you would like to book a course/for more info please email

Remember that there is a £300 bursary available for training to be a cycle instructor from Cycling England.
Here:
www.bikeability.org.uk/professionals/instructor_bursaries.php

(So whatever training provider you go for, you will get £300 - only covers England though).

One of the things we (CTUK) are trying to find out is how much funding is left for cycle training. On the neg side there was a finite pot set aside also talk about reaching a saturation point. On the plus side the gov does seem to be saying that you get more bang for your buck when you invest in cycling. The Lib Dem guy Norman Baker talks about cycling and cash on the Guardian podcast here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/audio/2010/jul/02/tourdefrance

The more determined and self motivated you are the better you will get on... ...Cycle Training is very seasonal and it doesn't help when the winter is as rough as the last one was.

True dat

It's like most freelance careers in that respect though

Wow - I've been trying to think of a way work with cycling, without being involved in a shop. Was hunting the BCF for work to no avail, would love to do this sort of thing will definitely be looking further into it.

Good. Feel free to ask any of the trainers on here any questions you might have, I know we will all be happy to help.

The really worrying thing is that they have probably now got a provisional pass and are able to teach people.

They wont, dont worry, if an instructor trainer has any doubts about someones ability,
they get referred and have to come back again.

I can assure you as an instructor trainer that if someone doesn't meet the grade in any way they will not be granted a provisional pass- not by me anyway! I cant speak for other training providers but Cycle Training UK (who I work for) is interested in setting, raising and maintaining standards in cycle training, not diluting them and allowing anyone who fancies it to get an accreditation.

If someone has poor cycling skills then there isn't much chance that they can teach anyone else to cycle effectively. This is one of the big differences between National Standards and the old Cycle Proficiency which was often taught by non-cyclists. People DO need to consider their cycling skills before coming on the course...I always liken it to a skydiving qualification...if I didn't know how to do it myself I certainly wouldn't even vaguely consider trying to teach other people to do it! I would also certainly NOT attend a skydiving course taught by someone who doesn't really know how to do it very well themselves...in fact I would run a mile and possibly report the trainer to the health and safety executive.

Not sure of the right thread for this, but...

Does anyone know if instructors are covered on our cycle provider insurance for electric bikes?

Thanks

The next step; getting accredited.

Must thank David (skydancer), Will, and Rob for pointing me to the right direction.

Maybe not David, end up talking about videogames instead!

nice 1 ed!

Well done edward
(No one elso to talk to about video games- Will wasn't interested at all and never considered Rob a gamer)

so what's happening with cycling england then? i thought it was being shut down because the ponzi property bubble fueled by cheap credit and the vested interests of political parties and banks finally resulting in cuts to all non essential services.

shareholders and bonuses need to be paid so cycling england gets the chop?

{sorry got a bit political there}