A growing DIY skills gap and an empty toolbox are leaving young adults ill-equipped to do basic household maintenance tasks, relying instead on mum and dad for both advice and hands-on help.
According to new research by Aviva less than two-fifths (38%) of young people know how to do a selection of 10 basic household DIY jobs, such as putting up a shelf, changing a fuse or assembling furniture. And one in five (20%) don't have any basic tools such as a hammer, screwdriver or spanner.

People aged 18 to 24 are up to four times less likely to be able to perform simple DIY tasks than those aged 65 and over, says Aviva. The skills gap is most pronounced on jobs such as tiling a bathroom and fixing a leaking tap. Only 9% of 18-to-24-year-olds could do the first, compared to 45% of the over-65s, and just 14% of the youngsters could achieve the second compared to 42% of the older generation.

While 43% of consumers turn to the internet to brush up on their DIY skills and gain advice, 51% of 18-to-24-year-olds instead turn straight to mum and dad - and it's not only DIY advice they are looking for. Fifty-five per cent of empty nest parents with offspring up to the age of 40 are still being called upon to help with hands-on home improvements in their children's homes.

In addition, parents fork out an average of £3,341 per year to buy materials and goods to help with their grown-up children's household improvements.

Eighty-one per cent of parents told Aviva they were more capable of handling their home improvements at their children's age than their children are nowadays.

Aviva's research findings tally with those of similar research last month, which found young people unable to do simple DIY tasks.