Brantford, Ont. woman brings driver instructor training to Saudi Arabia

A grandmother from Brantford, Ont., who has been a driving instructor since 1985, is now sharing her expertise with women in Saudi Arabia.

Sylvia Collins received an email from her company in 2021 that caught her eye.

“DriveWise Canada was looking for an instructor to go to Saudi Arabia and teach women to be in-car instructors,” she explained. “I was asked if I wanted to do that and I said ‘yes’ right away.”

Collins went for what she thought would be a brief three week visit but it got extended for another three weeks. Then, she was offered a fulltime job in Saudi Arabia.

Now she goes back and forth between the two countries. Sometimes she’s gone for months at a time.

“Things are changing all the time,” Collins said. “When I first went, it was fairly early in the women learning to drive process. The training was being introduced and the instructors were being trained. Then they discovered that it was a pretty good system and that women were better drivers than their male counterparts who didn’t have training.”

Submitted by Sylvia Collins

Collins explained that in Saudi Arabia, women aren’t able to be in a car with men outside of their own families. By training other women to teach, she’s helping get more of them behind the wheel.

“I’m giving them some tools to be able to make the choices, and I’m giving them the tools to be able to have their own impact,” Collins explained. “It’s not me changing things. It’s them changing things with the tools.”

She’s also teaching men as well as implemented motorcycle training for both women and men.

“We’re teaching male instructors, which was different for them to have me at the front of the class,” she said. “I want to be respectful, and if they’re uncomfortable, I want to figure out a way to make it work.”

While being interviewed by CTV News, which coincided with International Women’s Day, Collins talked about what she has learned from the women she works with.

“It seems every woman has a different story and so it impacts each person differently,” she explained. “I believe when a woman who is in a household and in the community has access to a vehicle and can drive, it changes the economics. It changes things for a family, which in turn changes communities.”  

Although she loves her job, Collins said it’s always difficult leaving her family – particularly her teenaged granddaughter, Faith, who inspires her every day.

Sylvia Collins and her granddaughter Faith. (Submitted by Sylvia Collins)

“When I’m gone, she’s the one saying: ‘When are you coming home?’” she laughed. “When she grows up and talks about me to her own kids, I just want her to be proud.”

Collins will be heading back to Saudi Arabia soon to continue sharing her knowledge and empower more women.