Beginners' courses

[samhay]

£145 a day for a fully resourced course (materials, machinery, workshop etc etc) is a reasonable rate - actually rather cheap compared to other specialist training without the overheads in a woodorking course. Whether 5 days is enough I seriously doubt.

I would be delighted if as a tutor I could earn £6k+ a week - although after expenses it may be reduced to "just" £3-4k. Most weeks you may struggle to get a full complement of students, and you are unlikely to run a course every week!

As someone who works in higher education, I can assure you that the tutor will not be pocketing anything like £3-4k for this week's work. What is more interesting is that the university must have a workshop, so it would be interesting to see what they do with it the rest of the time.

 

[Racers]

£145 a day for a fully resourced course (materials, machinery, workshop etc etc) is a reasonable rate - actually rather cheap compared to other specialist training without the overheads in a woodorking course. Whether 5 days is enough I seriously doubt.

I would be delighted if as a tutor I could earn £6k+ a week - although after expenses it may be reduced to "just" £3-4k. Most weeks you may struggle to get a full complement of students, and you are unlikely to run a course every week!

As someone who works in higher education, I can assure you that the tutor will not be pocketing anything like £3-4k for this week's work. What is more interesting is that the university must have a workshop, so it would be interesting to see what they do with it the rest of the time.

Furniture design Product design etc for 3 years worth of students.
It's usually quite busy in there especially towards degree show time, they all do things at the last minute!

Pete

 

[Trevanion]

Tutors Saturday wages, material costs (there's easily a hundred pounds worth of timber there per student before you start), finishes, keeping the lights on, powering the machines, wear and tear on said machines (New blades and belts etc...) insurance and liability, possibly providing food...

Nobody would blink an eye at seeing £1500 being charged in an upmarket shop for such a table, but being taught by a professional how to make your own for £725 with all the above taken into account? Never! :roll:

There are welding courses with fewer days for far more cash.

 

[Andy Kev.]

I just spotted this https://onlinestore.ntu.ac.uk/short-cou ... g-workshop
Sounds OK but I don't know any more about it. Not cheap!
It's appalling how much training and education is now only for those who can afford it.

I've got a fair bit of sympathy for your take on this but the course is inevitably subject to market forces i.e. if there are enough who can afford it, then it will be a success. If not, then the fees will come down or the course will be binned. In any event, the relatively well-heeled attending a course aimed at them does not deprive the less well off but it would be nice to see outrage at such fees leading to "normal" woodworkers getting together to offer courses for a cost only fee to those looking to learn.

I imagine it would be good fun if three or four people got together to run a course for, say, a dozen hobbyist learners.

I think the key question though is the target audience. Is the above course aimed at the wannabe pro or the interested amateur? They will necessarily have a different take on fees: the former is likely to see them as a cost to be recouped, the latter just takes the hit.

 

[Jacob]

....
I imagine it would be good fun if three or four people got together to run a course for, say, a dozen hobbyist learners....

Yes good idea. Everybody knows something worth passing on (except one or two doubtfuls I could mention!)
That was the idea behind my recent sharpening workshop - just a small group for a short period - not for profit just a charity chip in, tenner each in my case. Also people are much happier doing it as a community thing rather than for profit, though people have to live of course.