On Bornholm, an exciting collaboration is blossoming between SA-Service, Bornholms Affaldssortering (BOFA) and the Preparatory Basic Education programme (FGU). The goal? To take a step towards a more sustainable island by focusing on the repair and reuse of white goods.

Steen Andersen, the founder of SA-Service and a stalwart in the industry with 30 years of experience, is an advocate for hands-on experience and has therefore agreed to help guide local young people through a new and exciting programme designed to teach them how to repair white goods as part of their FGU.

But what makes this partnership so unique?
BOFA plays a pivotal role by having agreed to set aside discarded white goods, and every single repaired recycled appliance will be double-checked by Steen. – If something is completely and utterly wrong, the machine obviously won't go any further. Should it turn out that someone goes home with one that still doesn't work after a month – that can happen, after all, when we don't know the history of the appliances – then we'll sort it out, of course.

In Rønne, incidentally, a container has been set up where it is possible to donate used white goods for the cause, and there may even be more on the way. "We have discussed whether there should be an extra container either at my premises or at BOFA, but we are waiting and seeing how it goes," he explains. "However, I think it would be a good idea. When, for example, housing associations renovate kitchens and no longer need the old machines, it makes a lot of sense for there to be extra space so that they can easily donate, ensuring we appeal to more than just the man in the street.".

Extra value for the local community

The programme has four young people aged 16 to 20 enrolled, and it is based at FGU Bornholm in Rønne, which has its own small workshop. A subject teacher is attached who, with advice from Steen, has ensured they have precisely the right tools. If a need arises for mentoring or more advanced learning, the teaching is moved to SA-Service’s workshop, and the whole team has already visited SA-Service to look at the facilities and say hello to Steen.

– I really hope that some of the young people will find out that this is fun and want to delve deeper into it at some point. There is a shortage of people with those kinds of skills, so if you're interested and have a flair for it, both apprenticeships and job opportunities await with me, reveals Steen Andersen, who is himself a trained electrician, and he emphasises that there are several paths into the industry. – One of my employees, for example, is a trained lorry mechanic, and he just loves working with troubleshooting.

Steen Andersen adds that the work is far better than its reputation: – If you go back 25 years, it was really tough. Today we have sack trucks that can manage stairs, and rules about always being two people to lift. It wasn't like that in my day, but today people know that it is important to take good care of your employees and their backs.