Coventry men 'clueless about DIY'

Men across Coventry are clueless when it comes to carrying out basic DIY skills mastered by previous generations, a survey reveals.



Most men are now unable to change a lightbulb, hang a picture, or replace a fuse without confusion, the Thomsonlocal poll shows.

Around 2,000 men from across the UK were questioned about their basic man skills and abilities for the survey.

A quarter of those revealed they are not confident when it comes to changing a lightbulb, while a third were unsure about replacing a fuse or wiring a plug, and 47% wouldn't feel comfortable bleeding a radiator.

While men in Coventry were among the most confident in the country when tackling basic tasks. Around 82% of men were confident they could replace a lightbulb, around 60.7% felt they could rewire a plug if required, but just 60.7% said they could bleed a radiator. However they were less confident when it came to replacing a fan belt 28.6%.

Yet 93% of those surveyed across the UK felt it was important that men were able to carry out basic skills around the home, the survey shows.

In a bid to boost their DIY abilities Thomsonlocal has launched its virtual Man Skills Academy, giving men the tools to tackle basic tasks and speak to tradesmen.

Jill Pringle, marketing director, thomsonlocal.com: "We created the Man Skills Academy to help men gain more confidence in very basic DIY related tasks.

"It is hard to believe that as many as 25% of men admit to not being able to change a light bulb properly. We have been working with local businesses for 30 years and we want to help men learn these simple skills so they can work with tradespeople as effectively as possible."

For tips and advice on how to improve work with tradespeople visit http://www.facebook.com/thomsonlocal.com for your online virtual Man Skills Academy. To enrol for free in the Man Skills Academy go to http://www.facebook.com/thomsonlocal.com

"We know that as many as 1 in 20 men leave DIY problems for as long as possible, which is a pretty risky strategy. This avoidance technique can be due to a number of reasons. For example lots of men feel intimidated by tradespeople because of their lack of knowledge about the task in hand or technical jargon."

I'm about as much use as Mr Bean when it comes to DIY