Young People Need DIY Courses

Young people should benefit from learning practical skills as a significant number of under-35s admit to being DIY dunces.

Research by Halifax Home Insurance revealed that half of people aged under 35 years-old confessed to not knowing how to wire a plug, while 65 per cent conceded that their fathers are better at DIY than they are.

The study also found that 63 per cent of under-35s would not attempt to put up wallpaper and 54 per cent did not have the appropriate knowledge to be able to bleed a radiator.

A large number of young people do not have the confidence to perform DIY tasks around the house as the survey discovered that 45 per cent would not even attempt jobs such as putting up shelves.

This generation of DIY disasters could make great savings by taking plastering courses, tiling courses and decorating courses as they would learn skills that would prevent them from employing expensive tradesmen.

The investigation found that younger people have to pay qualified tradesmen an average of £2,498 in order to correct botched jobs which could also invalidate their home insurance.

Martyn Foulds, senior claims manager for Halifax Home Insurance, said: "This survey strongly suggests that younger people feel they don't have the experience or knowledge necessary to tackle even the most basic of home maintenance and DIY tasks.

"This indicates a significant number of younger householders could be storing up problems for the future, as the lack of home maintenance starts to take its toll on their homes."

Young people who learn basic practical skills may find they enjoy using their hands so much that they may want to achieve an industry recognised qualification in their subject of choice.

Learning practical knowledge can also provide people with a sense of independence as they will no longer have to rely on their parents or grandparents to complete DIY projects around the home.

Mr Foulds went onto say that homeowners should leave complex heating and lighting jobs to qualified tradesmen who have completed plumbing courses and electrical courses.

He said: "For larger jobs involving gas, electrical or plumbing work, it's best to call a qualified professional, otherwise homeowners run the risk of invalidating their home insurance policy if things go wrong."

Research by B&Q revealed that three quarters of women said they would be more likely to perform DIY in the current economic climate because they wanted to avoid spend money on a tradesman.

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