Best mate had a 5 day course for cat C one to one for £ 960 inc vat, how can they make any money by the time they have paid wages , vehicle costs etc.
Because nearly £200 a day for a truck doing 4 - 5 hours local driving isn’t exactly going to cost much.
How do you get to £200 , by the time you take off the vat and test fee it must be nearer 150
Interesting post that I just can’t resist responding to.
Any business works on a basic equation of “money in” relative to “money out”. The case youv’e cited isn’t working very hard on the “money in”, at first sight, so it must restrict “money out”.
I say, at first sight, because there’s ways of increasing “money in” by various means. These are not always dishonest but sometimes are, and can be slightly underhanded. A typical example is not working overly hard to get a first time pass in order to make money on a retest. And some trainers charge handsomely for retests. Extras for insurance and even fuel are not unheard of.
But it’s possible to make the equation work by keeping costs down. This can range from inexpensive parking, low investment in vehicles, using drivers as instructors and paying accordingly. Skimping on maintainence and repairs is, sadly, commonplace.
There is a model that can work eg a skilled instructor who is a mechanic who looks after his own vehicle parked in his own, paid for, yard. This “one man band” set up can be very profitable even at the rates quoted in the OP.
For me, it is vital to charge enough to maintain the level of service that our customers are accustomed to and deserve. This goes from the admin and includes the standard of instructor and vehicle. This doesn’t mean charging the earth, but I am prepared to accept that there are cheaper alternatives in the market. The clever customer is the one who can work out WHY they’re cheaper. And then decide if the saving is worthwhile.
There endeth a very abbreviated business studies course!!
Pete 
Noworries:
Best mate had a 5 day course for cat C one to one for £ 960 inc vat, how can they make any money by the time they have paid wages , vehicle costs etc.
It may have been one-to-one, but I’ll bet he didn’t spend 8 hours a day, for the full 5 days driving did he? Chances are he did the usual 14-18 hours of actual driver training, so therefore the truck was only actually working for half the day on his coin.
It’s possible that the trainer works on the basis of booking out 2 courses each week per trainer/vehicle, so in the case of the one-to-one candidates then the training day would be split between them.
Noworries:
Best mate had a 5 day course for cat C one to one for £ 960 inc vat, how can they make any money by the time they have paid wages , vehicle costs etc.
How many hours per day?, is medical,theory,driver CPC included??
A 1 man band can obviously keep their costs to a minimum due to not having too many overheads - lots of different factors that can have a reflection on price.
Why do supermarkets sell petrol for less than everone else 
It may have been one-to-one, but I’ll bet he didn’t spend 8 hours a day, for the full 5 days driving did he? Chances are he did the usual 14-18 hours of actual driver training, so therefore the truck was only actually working for half the day on his coin.
It’a possible that the trainer works on the basis of booking out 2 courses each week per trainer/vehicle, so in the case of the one-to-one candidates then the training day would be split between them.
Almost certainly the case. And whilst that cuts the standing costs in half, it doubles the running costs. But does increase profit at the end of the year - all things being equal.
Pete
He done 7 hours a day and the vehicle was an 08 plate volvo 
Cant see myself how this adds up
Cpc and medical was extra £185
Noworries:
He done 7 hours a day and the vehicle was an 08 plate volvo
Cant see myself how this adds up
Cpc and medical was extra £185
So assuming he did 7hours for the 4 days training and then 4 hours on the day of test - that equates to a 32 hour course
(very excessive)
This then works out at roughly £20 per hour for training - find that quite incredible if it was indeed the case 
The only thing I can think of is that they probably normally do 2 people but were quiet that week ■■?
Noworries:
The only thing I can think of is that they probably normally do 2 people but were quiet that week ■■?
Or - they are a one man band and under the VAT threshold ?
I know of a one man band company who do 1 to 1 only training for around the 6 hours a day mark but the actual driving time is nearer to 4 hours during that time - they are under the VAT threshold
My trainer charges £1100 including test fees.
This gets 4x4 hours training, 1x2 hour training before test and covers the cost of vehicle for the test.
On this basis he can teach 2 people per week.
I guess that after expenses he probably has about 7-800 per week as salary.
Noworries wrote:
He done 7 hours a day and the vehicle was an 08 plate volvo
Cant see myself how this adds up
Cpc and medical was extra £185So assuming he did 7hours for the 4 days training and then 4 hours on the day of test - that equates to a 32 hour course
(very excessive)This then works out at roughly £20 per hour for training - find that quite incredible if it was indeed the case
Clearly there is some missing/incorrect information. Failing which, this trainer will be joining the list of those that have gone broke.
I would rather throw £20 notes off a motorway bridge all day than work for that.
Just an example; one of my trucks had a very minor “coming together” with another truck last week. Total bill for mirrors for him and for me - - just under £700.
Another - candidate misjudged parking at the roadside and damaged nearside front tyre - -£180.
Same week, headlights failed. Diagnostic check etc £120 followed by £80 for the switch - total £200.
That’s how to spend over £1000 in one week.
So, to the fella working for £20 an hour - good luck!!
Pete
Peter Smythe:
Noworries wrote:
He done 7 hours a day and the vehicle was an 08 plate volvo
Cant see myself how this adds up
Cpc and medical was extra £185So assuming he did 7hours for the 4 days training and then 4 hours on the day of test - that equates to a 32 hour course
(very excessive)This then works out at roughly £20 per hour for training - find that quite incredible if it was indeed the case
Clearly there is some missing/incorrect information. Failing which, this trainer will be joining the list of those that have gone broke.
I would rather throw £20 notes off a motorway bridge all day than work for that.
Just an example; one of my trucks had a very minor “coming together” with another truck last week. Total bill for mirrors for him and for me - - just under £700.
Another - candidate misjudged parking at the roadside and damaged nearside front tyre - -£180.
Same week, headlights failed. Diagnostic check etc £120 followed by £80 for the switch - total £200.
That’s how to spend over £1000 in one week.
So, to the fella working for £20 an hour - good luck!!
Pete
I’m going to be a bit less polite, and suggest that someone is telling lies somewhere, or at least starting a few chinese whispers!
I’ve never known it to take 30+ hours to train someone to test standard in a single week, though I admit I am not involved in the training training industry directly. However if it did, the price would undoubtedly be significantly higher than the OP claims it was.
Grilled my mate today to get more info, it turns out that the trainer normally does 5 half days but did not have another candidate that week and gave extra training rather than going home early,
If I had paid for my training which I didt it, would of cost me £1085 for 4day course with test on the 5th day 8am-4am learning on your own. I thought that was cheap!
8am-4am
20 hour sessions!!
I’ll stick to my normal MO if that’s ok!! Pete
Lol typo 4pm ^^^^^^^
970-115 test fee =855
855/16 hours training=£61 per hour not too bad.
some companies do 2 trainee at a time + most trainees fail at first time and they charge you £250 to £300 for retest and doing nothing just drive to test center wait 1 hour and come back.not too bad money.