What exactly is a Chauffeur?
A Chauffeur is a skilled driver who will drive their employer from one place to another as required. They usually drive luxury cars, and as a Chauffeur, you will have the opportunity to meet new people and visit lots of locations. Maybe you have never considered this as a career option before. In this article, we hope to explain some of the benefits.
It is an excellent career for people who enjoy driving and like to deliver quality service. A Chauffeur needs to be polite, presentable, well organized, and discrete. Being at home with the basics of the mechanics of a car is also useful.
So, what does a chauffeur do?
- He/she will drive their employer where they require.
- Drive the client’s family around
- Assisting clients to carry their luggage
- Opening the vehicle doors for the passengers
- assisting passengers in getting out of the car if this is needed
- maintaining the vehicle in excellent condition
- keeping the car clean
- Restocking any refreshments
- Keeping customers informed about their planned journey
- Performing occasional errands as required
As a chauffeur, you have got to have the kind of helpful attitude and carry out tasks that are not technically part of your driving role, such as taking the client shopping and carrying the bags of items purchased.
What qualifications do I need to be a Chauffer?
At the very minimum, you will need a full, clean driving license with three years of driving experience. That is a minimum, and if you plan a career as a chauffeur, then you should consider one of the following courses offered by the IAM RoadSmart (formerly the Institute for Advanced Motorists).
Driving for a work course
Confidence post-incident training
Avoiding collisions seminar
Night driving for work (workshop)
Alcohol awareness seminar
Familiarisation with UK Driving
Speed awareness seminar
I would advise you to pass the advanced driver’s test.
The British Chauffeurs Guild
The Guild offers a home study training course that teaches the most important aspects of being a chauffeur. This course covers:
- Care of the vehicle
- Your presentation – includes dress and personal hygiene
- pickup and dropoff techniques
- Information about the IAM Roadsmart and RsSPA tests (mentioned above)
- Being security-minded
- More
If you undertake this course, you will be awarded the Standard Diploma of Merit and the Guilds Chauffeurs Permit’. This will be a big boost to your career goal.
Career progression
You may wish to take on a more challenging role in the future, or if you are ambitious at an earlier stage. Combining your function as a chauffeur with that of a close protection officer could be a very smart move in these days where terrorism and crime threats have grown.
You may want to undertake a close protection course in the UK. The COBRA instructors are incredibly well-trained individuals coming from police, Armed Forces, and security management backgrounds. The training team is led by a former Special Branch officer who has been involved with security for the Royal Family, Leading Politicians, Diplomates, and he is still a consultant to several foreign embassies.
Holding a COBRA qualification would place you in a select few qualified Chauffeurs who also hold Close Protection qualifications. This would indeed be a very smart career move.