End To Instructor Bursaries

Instructor Training Organisations received this letter from the Department for Transport announcing the discontinuation of Bursary awards to people training as cycling instructors from 31st March

*Instructor Bursary Grants

Following the spending review, Norman Baker announced that the Government will
support Bikeability cycle training for children for the remainder of this parliament. For
2011-12, the Department will make available grant to support over 275,000 Bikeability
places for children in year 6. At a time of significant public spending pressure this is a
considerable investment.

The Department will also continue to support the running of the Bikeability scheme and
the National Standard for Cycle Training that underpins it. However, given the financial
circumstances, we will also need to significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency.

As part of this, the current instructor bursary grants will not be extended beyond 31 March
2011, when most other existing arrangements under the Cycling England programme
cease. The instructor bursary grant has been successful in generating a significant
increase in cycle trainers, with now over 6,000 National Standard Instructors registered.
The Department is no longer able to support the cost of administering the grant, or justify
the subsidising of new trainers at a time when overall capacity is healthy. The
commitment to fund Bikeability over 4 years will hopefully give individuals and
organisations the confidence to invest in training themselves.

However, the Department will extend the scope of the local authority Bikeability grant to
allow some of the funding to be used to pay for instructor training if delivered by
recognised Instructor Training Organisations. This does not need to be restricted to local
authority staff, and authorities can support any trainee instructor in their area if they wish.
Local authorities can therefore respond to any perceived shortage of trainers in the area
by providing incentives. The Department will expect local authorities to maintain agreed
delivery levels under the grant (i.e. to train a specified number of children), but this
flexibility will allow up-front investment in instructors if necessary.

I understand this will be disappointing news. The Government has shown a strong
commitment to cycle training, but some changes are necessary to maximise the impact of
the resources available. The Department will continue to look to ITOs for provision of
high quality instructor training, and will work with you to deliver and improve cycle training
in the coming years.

Sustainable Travel Division*

Thanks to the bursaries the Cycle Training sector grew and Cycle Trainers became a respected profession. The ITOs being set up moved things on to the next stage.

Whilst it may be a struggle for the new ITOs to maintain their momentum and develop as a business without the ability to subsidise Instructor Training through a bursary the free market should encourage ITOs to develop new ways to attract people to the profession and so to sign up to instructor training courses.

CTUK-ITO is running a number of instructor training courses between now and the end of March which should still be for fundable through a bursary. Check the CTUK website for course dates and further information.
[URL="http://www.cycletraining.co.uk/training/instructor_training.php"][/URL]

Perhaps not surprising. Disappointing all the same. I am pretty sure that I would not have done the course without the £300 bursary and I am sure I am not alone in that.
They seem to be saying that there are already enough Cycle Trainers and any more than are needed can be trained on an ad hoc basis. Is this true? It has certainly seemed to me that there is no shortage of instructors in London. Also, how many people who do the course are actually doing it because they want to become full time instructors? And how many who want to earn their living from it do so?
Myself, and a couple of other people I talked to, felt a little bit lost after the course and that there was no clear career path if you wanted to continue. And, of course, back then there was no Cycle Training forum on LFGSS.

I've just signed up for the training. I was procrastinating for too long and don't think I would take the final step without the grant.

Yay! That's at least 4 people who have done the training as a result of this forum.

I think they're saying that there are many cycle trainers and where there is a shortage, local authorities can choose to divert some of the bikeability pot to train and support new instructors.
Perhaps big bikeability schemes will pay for people to be trained if they need some.
Perhaps some people will pay £400-£500 for that respected qualification. (I paid around £700 for my TFL qualification 20 years ago)
Perhaps people will really explore their motives for training as an instructor if they have to fork out themselves.

I've just signed up for the training. I was procrastinating for too long and don't think I would take the final step without the grant.

Nice one Kris.

Unfortunately five hundred quid is a lot of money for some people to find even though it is a respected qualification. Especially where there is far from being a guarantee of work after it. And that's a damn shame because it is such an excellent and worthwhile thing to do when you get the work.

Off to Morrissons now for my Merlot. See you later.

Especially where there is far from being a guarantee of work after it.

I suffer from too much time on my hands and stay at home with my daughter most of the week.
She now started the nursery, so even if have a day worth of work out of it, it will be worth it.

To be honest, I'd like to progress in some kind of cycling related job at some point - be it for a charity or else - and having bit of experience never hurt anybody.

Quite right Kris. Not everyone who does the course is looking to be an instructor; they might already be working in schools or with cycling in another way and want a bit more experience and professional back-up.
My experience has been that you have to be flexible about when you can work and where you are willing to go to work so if you already work part time or are self-employed, or unemployed, that fits well.

I bought a Chilean Cab by the way.

to carry the case of merlot?

Chilean Knowledge is easier to absorb than the one of London.

unlicensed taxis are a big problem in Santiago.

The bursery was a major sweetener that got me to do the training. I still needed to stump up another £600 odd to become fully accredited including the first aid and insurance and a few other bits and bobs. I remember worrying about the cost at the time. With hindsight the cost is not an issue and I have easily made it back. Doing this job has been one of the best things in yonks for me and I would recomend it strongly. Cutting the bursery is going to put some people off... no question. A shame. The people who I work for do say that there are many instructors in London but there is a shortage of instructors who will work full time... Some issues of professionalism too. CTUK was a great place to get trained. Thanks to Skydancer and Iain for those sessions. Do it! You won't be sorry.

There is a point to be discussed if you have too many trainers and not enough work. I've personally dealt with and witenssed in others, the frustration of being qualified and just not finding any work.
#notkickingtheladderaway

I think some people undertake the instructor training without a clear idea of where thay will be working. This is a mistake. If you don't know who is going to employ you, you can not get your full accreditation. Also, to be frank, some of the firms who might employ one are offering poor pay/conditions which are not sustainable from an employees point of view. I suspect that a great number of the 6000 instructors mentioned are not delivering training anywhere.... but I may be wrong.

from the perspective of the regions, it is often hard for Co-ordinators to keep trainers working for any length of time after getting a cohort trained.
this could be for a number of reasons a few of which might be:- people have other work committments, people arent proactive on making themselves available, despite being very keen to decide to actually try and fill your diary with bookings requires determination.
incidentally on the subject of Merlot again, this weeks blind date in the grauniad yesterday was Dean Wicks 22, cycling instructor, now that couldnt have happened 5 years ago.

people arent proactive on making themselves available, despite being very keen to decide to actually try and fill your diary with bookings requires determination.

This is it in a nutshell... Ya gotta hussle! Then, yes it can be "All good". If you aproach it as a fulltime professional gig then you are what employers are looking for... This has worked for me but I know other people need a part time thing.

It's like any other job, in that, if you are Pro about it, you do better then if you treat it casually.

Sorted. I have received the confirmation regarding my training in March. Also, they will sort out the bursary, so I was invoiced for £120 which doesn't sound bad.

I'd regret if I missed on this opportunity.

If there's no work, like Festus wrote, then fine. I want to volunteer for LCC's office anyway.

Or perhaps anyone know somewhere cycling related I could volunteer for twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday?

Perhaps someone does Kris but only if you go to sleep at nights...

Let's do coffee sometime (not grooming).

Not necessarily saying there IS NO WORK but I guess it's a matter of timing. Turn up too late and all the work has been assigned elsewhere you're staring down the barrel of a 3/4 month wait before you can really get into the system.
Ultimately Jason is right: you gotta hussle hard to get in.

You could try Bikeworks.

Perhaps someone does Kris but only if you go to sleep at nights...

Night watch. That would be perfect for me.

I'll be in touch.

Or perhaps anyone know somewhere cycling related I could volunteer for twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday?

Sustrans are always looking for volunteers... lots of different things you can do.

just a bit on this:-

You may have heard that School Sports Partnerships are having reduced funding from September 2011.

However they have said;

" .... and recent confirmation that the Department for Transport will continue to implement a significant part of Bikeability through SSPs offers further support of the need for a school led local delivery infrastructure."

The SSCo's will now have capacity to deliver Bikeability if required.

So if anyone has contact with Partnership Development Managers that oversee SSCOs,
they should be made aware that training their staff to deliver Bikeability to schools would be a good idea.