aimless, I think you are defining "survival skills" too narrowly. I consider all of the below survival skills that need to be practiced:

fire building - actual building, efficient fuel gathering, where to build it, when it is helpful to build it and when not

locating natural shelters

off-trail orienting, with and without a compass

recognizing the stages of hypothermia

mental tricks to calm down and stay rational

reading the terrain to locate streams

reading the weather

You can read about all these skills (all good and also necessary), but there is nothing like actually experiencing. I have a lot less fear if I find myself in a situation that I have encountered previously.