Regarding the FAA ATPL: My first three ATP Licenses were issued by Serious Important Regulators...including the UK. I thought myself pretty fancy for having those three certificates, then I went and did the “cereal box” FAA ATPL weekend course. As mentioned, most of those courses are about passing the exam, but they all assume the candidate has done the work. I in fact learned something from researching the odd answer to questions not previously considered.
Don't look down your nose at the FAA certificates, nor their odd way of concentrating on the useful. As properly conducted, aviation is mostly an application of the practical towards some useful end.
At least the FAA charter includes the mandate to promote (not prevent) aviation as well as regulate it.