Big Windy,
First, if you look at the history of CRM facilitator accreditation over the years it's actually an incremental restriction of who can be a facilitator rather than a progressive elaboration of the facilitator skill set. And as for the bar being raised, well I must have sat in the same audience as you and heard that. In fact, what we are seeing is a progressive erosion of CRM as more and more operators find ways of reducing the time allocated.
I've made the point before - and at the CAA - that Stds Doc 29 is all about style over substance. Provided the person at the front can somehow be seen to be 'chairing' a discussion then what the discussion is about, and whether it makes a change in the real world, doesn't matter.
How many Safety Managers task the CRM teams in their airline? How many CRM teams get a formal tasking from anyone or are they simply left to their own devices to come up with something to fill the training programme? If there is no clear loop between line performance, assessed behaviours and delivered training then CRM is little more than a moderately pleasant way to spend a day.
TC