This is an interesting thread. I completed John's course this June and, like others who have contributed to this discussion, I would agree that it is the best thing I have ever done.
I am not now about to rush off and start my own school - I hope to do some freelance work for whoever will offer it to me during the school holidays (I'm a teacher, for my sins...), so there's no danger of me joining the ranks of providers all competing for the interested public's pennies.
As to the purpose of the course, I would say that its first and most important contribution to those who go on it is to give them some of the structure and confidence that they will need to pass on the skills that should have been handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation but weren't. Anyone who has had to stand up in front of a strange but receptive group intending to pass on a series of complex skill sets will know that it is not the easiest of things to do; John's course helps them to do that with greater assurance, thereby enhancing the learning experience of the punter/pupil/disadvantaged person, etc.. During the year, you do cover some of the necessary bits and pieces that need to be considered if you want to set up on your own. What I found more impressive though was the deep, intuitive understanding that the woods in which we all love to "play" need to be very carefully preserved and nurtured so that they are not trashed for the next generation, let alone the next visitor. A healthy respect for our environment is crucial for bushcraft as a whole and it is an integral strand to the NCFE course.
Most folk who do the course are already pretty competent bushcrafters who want to be able to pass on their hobby/enthusiasm more effectively. There is, after all, an interview process to go through before you are offered a place on the course.
As for the need for such a qualification - well, that is a moot point. Unlike climbing, where there is an increasing risk of death or serious injury the further up the grade-ladder you go, bushcraft is relatively safe. So do we in bushcraft need the equivalent of SPA/MIC/IFMGA holders to tell us how to carve, start a fire or build a shelter? Probably not. There are a good number - a huge number - of very talented practitioners out there, running schools and courses, with no formal 'ticket'; what the level 3 course does is show that a certain standard, determined by John Rhyder and the NCFE, has been reached by the holder. It does not mean that that person is therefore 'better' but it does suggest an enthusiasm and a solid skills-base, along with an ability to get across the core skills to clients. This, then, is useful to prospective employers but may also offer a persuasive element to people choosing between two courses, one run by an 'unqualified' person, the other run by a 'qualified' one.
As with climbing, where a huge number of very, very good climbers (Mick Fowler springs to mind) are not qualified guides, so it is with bushcraft. The NCFE Level 3 ticket merely proclaims the holder can instruct pretty well, knows a fair amount about the subject and, most importantly, is passionately enthusiastic about it.
I think I'll shut up now.
