How to budget and how to plaster a wall among the 30 skills we wish we’d learned at school

Household money

Updated on 12 November 2015 | 12 Comments

Survey reveals what adults would rather have been taught at school.

How to budget, how to buy a house and how to open a bank account are among the lessons we wish we’d been taught at school.

That’s according to a new survey, which has revealed the top 30 skills millions of adults believe they would have been better off learning in the classroom rather than traditional subjects like Geography or Religious Education.

The top regret in the survey was not learning how to budget, with more than a third of adults wishing there had been lessons on managing their finances. Not understanding the importance of insurance and how loans work followed as the top complaints about school education.

Meanwhile practical everyday household tasks like how to unblock the toilet, put up a shelf, plaster a wall and even how to change a lightbulb also made the list of skills adults wish featured on the national curriculum in their school years to set them up for life in the real world.

30 skills we wished we’d learned at school

Here’s the full list of the things Brits wish they’d being taught in the classroom according to the survey commissioned by Able Skills, a provider of construction training courses.

1. How to budget
2. The importance of insurance
3. How loans work
4. How to wire a plug
5. How to take out a pension
6. How to drive
7. How to buy a house
8. How to put up a shelf
9. How to open a bank account
10. How to plaster a wall
11. How to change a car tyre
12. How to turn off the water in the house
13. Things to look for when buying a second-hand car
14. How to change the taps
15. How to lay a carpet
16. How to tile a room
17. How to cook a Sunday roast
18. How to jump-start a car
19. How to unblock a toilet
20. How to strip wallpaper without damaging the wall
21. How to assemble flat pack furniture
22. How to bring up a baby
23. How to unblock a plug
24. How to grout
25. How to use a drill
26. How to read an electric/gas meter
27. How to fix a bike
28. How to put up a fence
29. How to build a wall
30. How to change a lightbulb

The real world

Worryingly the survey revealed four in 10 of respondents didn’t feel school taught them enough to get through adult life.

Drama, art and French were named as the lessons which had no impact on life after school in the real world.

It's never too late!

On the positive side respondents said they had gone out of their way to learn an average of eight specific new skills they weren’t taught at school.

Interestingly half of respondent have retrained during their adult life, going on to become electricians, carpenters and mechanics.

So it’s never too late to learn new skills even if your school education has left you struggling in the real world.

Online videos are a fantastic source of information for practical tasks around the home like plastering a wall or rewiring a plug.

There are also free online university courses that can help you see what other careers could be for you, while loveMONEY has plenty of guides to help you on your way with the financial skills schools have failed to impart.

Take a look at how to set a budget and stick to it and  which insurances do you really need? to tackle the first two major gripes.

For help with pensions we’ve got detailed information on how to start a SIPP and how to work out how much you need to save for retirement.

While for those looking to buy a home will find a wealth of information on best buy fixed rate and variable mortgages as well as guides like how to buy a property to help in the process.

Be more savvy with your money! Compare current accounts that let you earn 5% interest

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