Run a household skills audit
Before you buy courses or books, find out what the household already knows. In a total blackout nobody is on call, so every gap becomes your problem.
How
- Make a grid: one row per person (adults and children over about 10), one column per skill area in this module: first aid, electrics awareness, plumbing and water, carpentry, engines, gardening, animals, preservation, cooking, sewing, fire and wood, navigation and radio, records.
- Score each cell 0 to 3: 0 none, 1 has watched or read, 2 has done it with help, 3 can do it alone and teach it. Be honest; a score of 3 means a real demonstration, not confidence.
- Record certificates with expiry dates (first aid, radio licence, chainsaw, food safety) in the same sheet.
- Note who is physically able for each task and who is away often. A skill held only by a person who commutes is not available in the first days of a blackout.
- Use the dependency list from continuity-1 to check that every outside service you rely on has a matching skill row.
- Keep the audit on paper with the household file and repeat it every year (see skills-22).
Do these first
Sources
- Community emergency plan toolkit. UK Cabinet Office toolkit (copy hosted by Test Valley Borough Council), accessed 2026-11