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Level Attitude
16th Feb 2014, 20:12
Breaking off from the "FE Insurance" Thread due Thread creep.

A PPL Student (for example) can collect all the paperwork from their
ATO, including the all important "Recommended for Test" signature, and
then go to any airfield they like and be tested by any Examiner they like.

An ATO has no official involvement in the Test.

Usually a student will ask, or even expect, for the ATO which they did
their training to also help organise their Test; and ATOs will probably
approach Examiners they know, which would also include some who are
employed by them as an Instructor. I have no problem with this - It is,
after all, how the world works.

An Examiner should be an independent and impartial judge of a candidate's
performance on the day.
EASA seem to agree with this given the Part-FCL.1005 "Vested Interest"
section - perhaps even too strictly given the No Training, no matter how
little or how long ago clause.

Therefore no Examiner (in my opinion) should be employed, as such, by
any ATO and no Examiner should be "Approved by", "Associated with" or
"Nominated by" any ATO - as this all leads to a reduction in perceived, or
actual, independence.

Over 18 months ago the UK CAA requested permission of all UK Examiners
to publish their details. This National list should be published, with ATOs
allowed to (or even told to) arrange Tests, for their students, using anyone
they like from the National list and NOT having their own, limited, list of
nominated Examiners.

If the CAA still require a monthly return of Examiners used - no problem.

RTN11
16th Feb 2014, 20:38
Considering that you have to be an instructor to become an examiner, what do you propose, that you lose you job to become an examiner, something which is by no means a full time position?

Level Attitude
16th Feb 2014, 21:37
Considering that you have to be an instructor to become an
examiner, what do you propose, that you lose you job to become
an examiner, something which is by no means a full time position?Skim reading RTN11?

I specifically said
Therefore no Examiner (in my opinion) should be employed,
as such, by any ATONo ATO should offer, as an Employer, a Contract of Employment which
states that the duties of the Employee will include the examination
of that ATO's students.

Basically I am saying that, to be independent, any Examining activity
must be on a Self-Employed basis (even if the individual is employed
as an Instructor) - whether the Examiner charges the ATO for their
services or the candidate directly does not really matter.

S-Works
17th Feb 2014, 07:31
And why would those of us employed by an ATO then want to get into the hassle of registering as self employed just to do skill tests? I am perfectly happy with the fact that I am employed in my role and have no desire to register as self employed.

As HoT I will always try to use my internal guys before going external. It's called showing loyalty. And as HoT by testing our students it helps me keep an end to end quality check on the work my Instructors are doing.

Whopity
17th Feb 2014, 07:56
Very soon there will be no Examiners so its all rather academic. The new regime is set to regulate by price rather than experience or quality!