Ordit is the Offical Register of Driving Instructor Trainers. It’s a voluntary register that means that you have had a senior examiner sit in the back of your car and watch you training someone to be a driving instructor.
Pass the strict exam and are put on the register to show that you’ve met minimum quality standards.
It sounds great doesn’t it? There’s one huge problem though…
The problem with ORDIT
Some of the largest members of ORDIT are the ones that have the most complaints about their training.
If you haven’t already done so then read my page on training school scams and bear in mind that many schools operating those scams are on ORDIT.
Search online for all the other complaints about large companies and guess what? Yes, they’re mainly on the register. It’s become little more than a register of people who have passed an exam. It doesn’t mean anything else.
Unfortunately, many cowboys are now on ORDIT.
Cowboys see it as a shield. Whenever anyone asks them if they are genuine and any good they just say “Hey, we’re on ORDIT!”.
I had training from a very well known and highly respected ADI trainer. He’s not on ORDIT.
Some, in fact most, ADI trainers out there don’t bother with any course and simply have a go at ADI training because they don’t have much work coming in. They see joining ORDIT as a licence to print money but it means nothing.
Another big problem with ORDIT
There is an absolutely stupid rule that only grade A instructors can be on ORDIT.
Some of the best instructors are a grade B and some of the worst are a grade A.
Having a grade A just means that you did one lesson well, a few years ago. All the others you did since could be rubbish but instructors can boast about having a grade A even if they fluked it.
The very fact that ORDIT bases an instructors ability on ONE lesson that they did years ago shows how pointless it is.
What happens if you’re a grade A on ORDIT for years and then get a grade B? Are you suddendly no good anymore because you made one mistake on one lesson?
What if you took 4 standards checks in one day and got 2 grade B’s and 2 grade A’s? What are you then, an A or B?
I never put much into grades because people that spend their time ticking boxes to pass exams and get grades often have no idea how to do things in the real world in my experience.
Final thoughts
Overall it’s a good idea and it can be useful when choosing a trainer but don’t put too much into it.
As with anything in life such as finding a plumber or buying a car – do your research and make your own mind up.
Don’t just rely on what a register says.
You can read more about ORDIT on the DVSA website.
