Since Saltire Facilities Management was established 25 years ago, its roots have been firmly planted in the local community. 2021 has been no different, as Saltire has continued to focus on its social impact during a second year of the pandemic.

At the beginning of 2021, working conditions at Saltire were still difficult, with another lockdown in place and only essential work being undertaken. Our teams continued to work in order to support customers who had domestic emergencies such as boiler breakdowns, and our tradespeople were out and about on a daily basis working in homes across the country.

Jobs in the community, for the community

While this work had to continue, it was more difficult than usual, and for one group in particular – our young apprentices. Apprenticeships mean learning on the job, and with a ban on people travelling together in vans, this was made almost impossible. That didn’t stop us hiring more apprentices in 2021 though, with another six coming on board to kickstart their career at Saltire. In fact, right now we have a total of 23 apprentices, all at various stages of their time, and this year we’ve retained 9 former apprentices who are now fully qualified engineers and plumbers.

That’s 32 jobs in the local community – well-paying, steady jobs, with a company which is committed to lifelong learning for those who want to move onwards and upwards. The social impact of that is huge in some of our local neighbourhoods, and we’ll stay committed to our apprentices no matter how tough it can be to give them the standard apprenticeship experience while the pandemic continues to rumble on.

Spreading our social impact far and wide

We play our part in the local community in a number of other ways , and will continue to make a positive social impact a pillar of our success in 2022. We’ve partnered with the North Lanarkshire’s Working scheme to bring three more people into our call centre, and we’ve supported local charities and clients in a range of ways. From installing a community defibrillator, to donating vouchers to our customer Almond Housing Association as they distribute food parcels, and giving money towards a pergola to shelter the Muddy Boots kids club when it visits Whinhall Allotments in Airdrie, we mean it when we say that our local community is a pillar of our success, and one of the main reasons we work so hard even during the toughest times.

With an ever-increasing focus on decarbonisation, our dedicated Eco Team is committed to installing solar panels and air source heat pumps across the country, making our social impact ever more linked to sustainability. As we head in 2022 times are looking little tricky once again, but just like last time we’ll get through it by keeping our community at the heart of everything we do.