I was taught to use the ADF, VOR and DME in the very early days of PPL cross-country training. (There was no GPS in those days - or at least I'd never seen one.)
All that knowledge was of great benefit a year or two later when I had to divert in deteriorating weather and became uncertain of my position. Using a VOR to obtain a bearing and then tracking on that VOR to a safe landing proved the value of being able to use all the equipment on the aircraft even though it was a VFR flight. Having a current NVFR rating was also useful in the event.
A few years ago I was stunned to discover that most of my Kiwi CPL friends had no understanding of navaids because "you don't learn that stuff until you do an instrument rating"!