I look on all these type of 'training' things like any other......
If you pays your money you WILL get the certificate, no matter whether you are good, bad, or ugly.
I will wager by the time it comes to 6/6 you will miraculously get '1' on everything and pass with flying colours so the cheque will not have to be refunded.
I know.....cynical bastard ain't I? It is based on many years of watching others do paid 'training' and pass no matter how clueless they are. The UK in the 21st Century.
Psychologists muse as to whether cynical and / or suspicious approaches to others are based on nature or nuture..I couldn't possibly comment!-
I would agree having attended dozens of courses run by for profit organisations that merely paying for a course leads pretty easily to an 'award'
However when it comes to ROSPA and AIM as a student of both I can categorically say that is not the case.
On the ROSPA test day the examiner who was a former Class I trainer and examiner, assessed me for over 2 hours in what was my most challenging and extensive test I've ever done for any exam.
A colleague of ours struggled on the day and received a bronze level pass despite being a long time member of said ROSPA sub group.
Now as a tutor / trainer with IAM I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.
Personally I've had one student dismiss himself for non performance and another who failed on test as we suspected he would do despite 2 tutors, 9 lessons and over 20 hours of training.
IAM for sure and I suspect similarly ROSPA isolate the training from the assessment.
The examiner on the day who is always Class ! examiner / trainer level has NO knowledge of the candidate and has to assess the performance of the student on the day in isolation.
Obviously we don't put people forward unless we think they are going to pass (except our student were we had just run out of time and patience as he was not improving at all come what may)..however there's no guarantee especially when it comes to grading.
The fact that we as tutors are additionally trained on grading and assessment to ensure standardisation across the whole country speaks to the fact that its not that simple to pass!
I've now a few dozen 'senior assessment' drives and a few young and senior folks on the whole program..and I can say that there is no bias to awarding a grade to anyone if they don't merit it.
The fact that the run sheets show improvement over time for most is the reality of skills based training..you discuss, you are shown, you demonstrate, you're critiqued and then you repeat and repeat till you reach a minimum standard.
If you want to reach the higher standard (ROSPA advanced driver Gold, IAM advanced driver F1st. IAM Masters Distinction) then you have to work really hard.
Of course much depends on physical and cognitive skills, aptitude and relevant experience, plus how willing and hard and how much effort you put into it.
It goes without saying that a primary starting point is self assessment and awareness of one's current limitations!