I would have to say experience has significant value. Not only the technical aspects of handling a camera, but also seeing how a subject would be interpreted by the equipment and how you envision it to be what you want. I often see things that look incredible in the idea that comes to mind, but then technically, it is not possible to present it with the camera. Then there's the opposite case, where something comes from something I never expected. It happens more often than case number 1.
In any event, I've been at it for less than a year. I stepped up some years ago, during a tour of a band, where I took several thousand pictures and kept them all. Most all were bad, but by chance, I got a few great ones, all from a Fuji f460 with no manual modes to speak of. The bad ones allowed me to understand what I did right and wrong and identify what I needed in technical terms. I had an slr, but my results were poor, as I didn't really know how to handle it. I took reasonably good pictures compared to most around me, however. Then I moved and put the stuff away for a few years, but then it hit me again. Then keeper ratio went up, artistic interpretation went up, etc. I'm an amateur, but I'm developing my ability to see things and not only see what's there, but see what they could be after PP.
So certainly, I think it can be learned, to some extent.