I elected to do a flight test and a seminar when I last revalidated. It was my first seminar and it was hosted by the Examiner Training Agency.
I have to say that I found it to be most rewarding and educational...not at all a waste of time.
Recently attended a seminar at Cranwell and one thrust there, if I may paraphrase, was "that we are teaching handling, but not airmanship; and that it's the lack of airmanship which is dominating the accident scenarios"
Pilots continue to place themselves in impossible positions. Handling skills will not serve to extricate said pilots from these situations.
Of course, airmanship is difficult to teach, time-consuming and tends not to get the Hobbs meter turning. I make no apologies for being an offender.....gotta eat.
It's as simple as this, " we teach down to a price, not up to a standard".