Pay for Checkride?
 

A mate of mine went for a FI interview lately and was told that they are charging Instructors for the 1 hr checkride with the CFI? Since when did this come about? Anybody else had to do this? Wrong on so many levels me thinks..

This wouldn't be a flying school over on the emerald isle by any chance?

I applied to one when I was starting out instructing and they wanted me to pay for checkride, and if successful, 5 hours "solo local familiarisation training". In return they demanded I work 7 days a week for peanuts.

Must say that the satisfcation in telling them where to stick their "offer" was considerable and I would certainly recommend your mate does the same. :}

VFE.

N.E. of England it pains me to say, and oh, he did..
but some i fear might not.

There will always be those who care not a jot for the arse reaming they are prepared to undergo to gain that extra foot up. Over time I have chosen to ignore them because quite frankly lifes too short to worry about it.

VFE.

charging
 

VFE is right.

When I came up to scotland I visited a large school who said they were 'desperate' for experienced FI's.

Then told me it was £20ph and I would pay for the checkride.

Not desperate enough then. Idiots

What school would that be?

vems
 

Should'nt name them really but it was about 70 miles south of ABZ.

I should really qualify the £20 as it is the going rate for PPL stuff. I would have to do a c.4 hour round trip in a day to get there and was prepared to do that if the hourly rate (no retainer) reflected the aforementioned desperation. And it would have been week-end ish stuff as i have a day job.

I was charged for the checkride and famil trip before I got a job. I was so amazed and annoyed. I refused to pay, so they took it out of my wages! Sign of the times methinks....

I was not charged for my check ride. Well it was more like a local famil trip than a check ride.

I would tell them to shove it right up their jacksies. Not on.

Am I the only one thinking that if they charge for the check they may not be the most generous of employers ? Therefore I would only want to work for them if I was really desperate. There are enough good flying schools around and I would prefer to work for one that values its employees and realises that it is in the school's longterm interest to pick up the costs of checks, charts etc

Desperate people are part of this ongoing problem for anyone trying to forge a career in aviation. Why when faced with an appalling offer do people not walk away and wait for a better offer to crop up? The instructing game is very transitional even in a recession threrefore it cannot be accepted that you must take what you can find ASAP. This above mentioned attitude shown by flying schools is a fantastic warning sign that the operation is seriously untrustworthy and morally corrupt. Those who fail to avoid them and fail to walk away deserve the ****e terms and conditions which they'll inevitably end up with IMHO.

Wait and you shall be rewarded. Be imatient and you shall suffer I'm afraid.

VFE.

Well said
 

Well said
Cleveland Flying School by the way, oh did I say that out loud?

Would it be so unreasonable for a prospective employee to be told that he/she'd have to pay for the assessment check ride, but would be immediately repaid if hired?

That way the employer would be protected from time wasters and tyre kickers, but bona fide candidates wouldn't end up out of pocket.

Just a thought - whilst everyone is facing hard times.

Why should an FI have to pay for a part of recruitment process? I can make a judgement on an FI without a checkride. The flight is just ticking a box and for me always just confirmed my views.

I can understand why schools with enormous turnovers of FI's might think about it, but if I was them I'd be looking more closely at their recruitment procedures in the first place and trying to minimise the turnover.

You can look at it two ways. Whilst you want to minimise "tyre kickers" what is there to stop schools using FI "checkouts" as a cash cow themselves? Interview 20 people, fly with them and then only employ 1.

If I go to work for someone, I expect to be paid for my time. I do not pay to work. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but if I was asked to pay for a checkout at a school, I would walk away without a second thought.

A nice little (legal?) earner and some are obviously doing it already SAS because as you say (and most here know!); "checkrides" are invariably a formality, therefore this behaviour is a pure money spinner at the expense of the applicant. Despicable really but it's worth mentioning that the vast majority of flying schools are decent outfits. Sadly, there remains a few 'Arthur Daley' characters around, and there'll be more popping up as this recession gathers pace, but the good news is that they're quite easy to spot and you don't have to have a background in used cars to avoid them.

Those who get stung by them are good examples of natures natural selection in operation.

VFE.

Job interviews in a recession are always fun, ain't they!

I remember in the early 1980s a friend going for a job in PR with a health board in Yorkshire. She had to pay her travelling expenses for the trip from London but they would only be refunded if she either wasn't offered the job, or was offered and accepted.

If she was offered the job and didn't take it, she'd have to pay for her own expenses. (and, of course, interviews were during the week, so she had to take a day of annual holiday to attend, win or lose.)

As can happen in interviews, she decided she wouldn't like to work for these people, and they also preferred someone else. So she got a nice cheque to cover travelling costs.

Then - believe it or not - she got a letter saying the first person had dropped out. So would she like the job. Her reply was no - and then they wrote and asked for the now-cashed cheque back!

Very best,

XA

need a union
 

Its so typical of this industry ,, no wonder we get so disillusioned, I’m an instructor H so at least we get a bit more money but I have just done a standardisation course as my employer wanted me to teach CPL, well I get an extra £10 an hour for CPL so though why not. Just got the bill for my standardisation, £1890,, only do about 2 students a year CPL ,, well guess there free for next ten years :mad: