Australian Ham Radio Discussion Forum ( AHRDF )

The revised PDFs from the AMC arrived in my inbox back on Thursday, and having perused them, I am left unsure of whether to complete and return the Assessor Application.

I have been a WIA assessor for over 10 years but it was done freely for an organisation that directly benefited its members - you & me - with costs basically at a minimum given that it was not a profit-making function.

With the AMC now being the body responsible for amateur examinations (/ assessments) plus the callsign management functions, they are doing it for what I guess is some profit - why else would they tender for the job.  I don't like the AMC's new costs structure - far too expensive for a hobby environment - particularly with them using "no-charge" assessors.

At the same time, I would like to be able to continue providing would-be amateurs a venue to undertake assessments, the same as I have been doing for the WIA until now.

That raises the question in my mind: Should I now apply to become an assessor for the AMC ? 

Your thoughts would be appreciated, privately by direct email or a PM through this Forum, or by a response posted to this topic.

The response via the forum has been underwhelming. Nil, zilch, zero.

Today I sent an email to the Manager, AR-AMC, advising that I will not be applying to become an assessor for their organisation at this point in time.  I cc'd it to the WIA as well.
 
I won't go into details here other than to say that I wasn't impressed with the AMC outcome so far, their fees and charges, seemingly nowhere near ready to conduct assessments etc..

I stopped actively being a WIA Assessor about 4-5 years ago, doing the audits and responding to the emails. (Although my name was still showing on the list).

The WIA malaise that was starting to set in at the time and the endless forms, bureaucracy and what I perceived to be a lack of respect for volunteers from WIA head office all contributed to me stepping back at the time. I felt I had better things to do with my time than be a slave for the WIA.

Afterwards, I had a couple of conversations with a nominated assessor about redoing my audit, but complete silence from WIA head office about anything else.

Don't think I will be bothering with AMC either.

73,

Rob...
VK6LD

Dear Doug

I did not reply to you post because I have never been a WIA assessor and could not offer you an informed opinion. You have made a choice not to be involved in the new system and I respect that, but I also want to thank you for all your time spent doing assessments under the old system.  

I am also worried about several aspects of the AMC system, especially the cost involved and the time that candidates will have to wait before they can sit for their exams.

73

Wayne VK4WDM