A lantra accredited qualification is very much worth the paper its Written on!!... and PDS 1 is a lantra accredited qualification....
The Dsc is and always will only be a benchmark qualification and while ever they (dmq) keep moving the goalposts with what they require to pass their certificates ie 1 deer for level two instead of three, they will become less relevant.... infact I've already noticed some adverts are asking for dsc1 or equivalent in their person specifications....
Remember where DMQ came from.... someone in BASC who came up with an idea and then through his position and Contacts was able to convince fc to get on board to 'recognise' it.... and at the time there was nothing else of its kind and so it got more recognition to the point that it became the industry standard and adopted by the police (fc already had their fingers in the pie).....
LANTRA training is much more recognised by industry and I for one would take on someone with a PDS certificate.... as it shows they've trained to, and achieved a standard that is accredited by an outside body as opposed to internal body who actually created the qualification (dmq ltd) .
The very fact that Dmq won't recognise a lantra accreditation and allow that person to do their dsc2 just shows that there's a money making undertone there.....
The deer industry needs a good shake up and there needs to be more acceptance for whatever training/qualification provider the person chooses....