Either that or the PDS guys are cashing in on all the negative comments that followed the "downgrading" of the DSC2 to only 1 stalk.
I think reducing to only 1 stalk was actually perfectly sensible. After all, most other vocational qualifications only require one round of each component. You only need to pass your driving test once. Even the vast majority of academic qualifications only require you to demonstrate the skill to a sufficient level once.
The logic is good: as a witness, you only sign off on each component once you’ve seen it done properly. In practice, either the person clearly knows what they’re doing, and more than one stalk is a complete waste of everyone’s time. Or they struggle, and you take 2-3 goes before they get it right.
It actually provides a level of sensible, pragmatic flexibility that wasn’t there before.
However they totally botched the messaging when they did it, and everyone views it as a watering down.
My big problem with DSC2 is the Assessors, many of whom seem to have absolutely no understanding of the basic principles of rigorous assessment and instead seem to treat the whole thing as a way to assert some form of dominance. Each one has a set of completely irrational, idiosyncratic personal interpretations of the criteria that defy logic or best practice. It just becomes a meaningless hoop jumping exercise entirely at the whim of the Assessor.
If this PDS can avoid this, all credit to them.