A fun ride...

[Grahamm]

the group simply does not have enough Observers to assign new Associates to!

I really hate to point this out, but this really means that not enough people feel inclined to go on and become an observer, it's probably the reason you don't have enough. I wonder why that is? eh.

Perhaps because some people don't want to, or because they're too busy, have too many other commitments, don't have the inclination, can't spare the time, feel they don't have the aptitude etc etc etc.

I've thought about doing it myself, but that's going to be a few years down the line yet.

I know someone who's a member of a RoSPA group and says that it's "struggling to survive" at the moment.

From what you're saying about the 'Mobile Display Unit' the IAM seems to be struggling too.

Err, WTF? How do you come to that conclusion based on the fact that the only reason they're not putting the MDU out there so much at the moment is that they can't handle the number of people who want to join??

The problem is "not enough Observers to do the training", not "not enough members".

There you are, a perfect reason to form a new organisation from Rospa and IAM and start afresh with no beards or Belstaff products allowed.

Fine, go ahead, you start it, get the funding, get charitable status, organise it, get it country-wide, publicise it and I'll happily join up!

Oh, sorry, you meant *someone else* should do this because you don't like the IAM and RoSPA...

So *WHO* exactly is putting people off joining the IAM and stopping people from getting the advanced training they could well do with...???

(Fortunately I'm willing to actually go out and *meet* these people and see what benefit I can get from joining them, rather than listen to the pontifications of "some bloke on the forums" who has as much credibility as "a bloke down the pub")

This is actually a good point,

Thank you.

but it's the IAM's problem to sort out and not anybody elses problem. Trouble is, I and a lot of lother people feel that you won't ever get past the negative image. If people on forums and blokes down the pub are undermining the credibility of the IAM and you can't reverse it, then the IAM will continue to wither on the vine. This is the UK remember, negative images stick, it's the way it is.

Hmm, ok. Perhaps, then, on behalf of the IAM and RoSPA I should ask you to "STFU!"?

Or perhaps I'll just keep posting in threads like this one and hope that people who are interested in advanced training will be able to look past the slagging off and go out and meet up with one of these groups and see for themselves what benefits they can get from it...