Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe OTTAWA, May 1 (UPI) -- Almost half of Canadians aren't able to complete basic household maintenance skills such as changing a faucet, a survey published in Ottawa showed Tuesday. The Harris/Decima agency polled 1,011 adults last month on behalf of the non-profit Skills/Competences Canada organization that monitors skills among workers. Advertisement The survey found 46 percent of respondents don't know how to install new kitchen or bathroom faucets and 14 percent have no idea how to turn off the water main for their homes. Some 28 percent said they don't know how to change a flat tire, although by gender, 48 percent of women said they didn't know how. As for replacing broken zippers in clothing, 45 percent said they couldn't. By gender, 63 percent of men said they had no idea about fixing zippers, the release said. The chief executive officer of the Skills group, Shaun Thorson, said Canadians should have more skills than using a hammer and nail to hang a picture. "There's a serious underlying message here that many Canadians are lacking basic, practical knowledge when it comes to completing everyday skills, admitting they require help," he said. There was a 3.1 percentage point margin of error in the results, the group said. Advertisement
