The way forward with Foundation & Intermediate Licence Training

For several years I have been the Wireless Society’s main Trainer for Foundation and some intermediate, with support from a range of members pitching in to help out.

I have in the past year taken much needed time out to learn for, and gain my full amateur radio licence. I am looking forward to receiving my callsign with great pleasure, and am currently enjoing a much needed break. I cant tell you how wonderful it feels to chill out for a bit, and long may that feeling last..!!

Next month, September 2019, heralds a new era for Foundation and Intermediate licences as the syllabuses have changed considerably, and it is going to take some time to prepare and plan a new course with a new format of learning that is easy for us all to manage and cater for.

The new Foundation Licence syllabus has 250 items to learn, which is a massive jump from the 130 items in the previous syllabus. Getting the course right requires time and planning, and unfortunately, the resources of Sheffield Wireless are limited in that we do not have a training room facility. However, this has never been a barrier in the past.

If you think the increased learning is a tough change for Foundation Training, then consider that the Intermediate Training has also been toughened up which will require much more training and far more time, time that we are limited to as trainers, pitchers and supporters.

This means we will have to do things differently, and I think we can acheive that in a way that encompasses the very ethos of amateur radio being a hobby of self learning and experimentation, with a facility of using on line learning resources.

I still continue to be approached as a main trainer since standing down for a break, and as you can imagine, my planning is only in the thinking stages where I am beginning to consider the best way to progress forward on training, although a priority for me, is also preserve my valuable limited time and that of the training supporters.

I no longer have any intention of doing classes, as we do not have the meeting resources available to us. However, a more useful way of managing my time is to provide training videos on YouTube, and also, having used Google’s Classroom for the Full Advanced Group, this feels to me the best way forward for both Foundation and the Intermediate Licence.

My frst priority, is to focus only on the Foundation given the extent of the changes in both. I will not be giving the 2E0 a second glance, placing this on the back burner for sometime in the future. No timescale is set for this.

There is nothing to stop students reading the Course Handbooks, which is what students should be doing in any case of part of their own self learning. Regular members of the society, both at meetings and on the hub are more than happy to answer questions and discuss topics, so we can easily buddy you up with a named 1:1 fully licensed amateur who you can build a good close rapport with during your learning. The videos I plan, along with Google Classroom will also complement each other very well I think.

So, the structures I will be working on, starting from January 2020 will be as follows;

• Hints and Tips on How to Study
• Course Book Reading
• YouTube Video Presentations at your leisure
• Google Classroom Online Group
• 1:1 Buddy Support with a licensed amateur
• Practical Sessions around May/June, and, November/December.
• Exams will be undertaken in January and July with exam room paid for by Sheffield Wireless.
  • NB: You can request to take your exam at any other time, but you, or your group, will be responsible for the payment of your exam room booking, currently £50.
• You are responsible for the cost of the exams, and any materials you need to use.

If you need to contact me, or have any questions, then please use the contact us section on the top of our website, or ask a question in our ‘Member’s Hub’ on Facebook.

Thank you and best 73

Krystyna 2E0KSH (awaiting my full callsign!)