The Employment Group heads on towards further growth

HOOGLANDERVEEN, 9 July 2019 – The Employment Group (TEG), secondment agency for skilled workers and professionals takes another hurdle in its buy & build strategy with its acquisition of technical services provider Cottus. As a result of this take-over, TEG now consists of five specialized staffing companies which cater to skilled workers and professionals in the field of technical and painting services and construction.

“Through the acquisition of Cottus, TEG takes yet another hurdle on its road to become the largest specialist secondment services provider in scarce skills jobs in the construction and technical sectors in the Netherlands,” says Jan-Willem Gelderblom, CEO of The Employment Group. Besides on the secondment and assignment of interim professionals, the company – comprising a total of 37 branch offices after the take-over – focuses on the deployment of specialized (skilled) staff in the industrial and technical sectors and in construction.

TEG strives for ambitious, sustainable growth

TEG is active on the market with its labels Voort, Koen, Faber Schilders, and Faber Bouw. Voort and Koen are specialized in professionals in the industrial sector, civil engineering, construction and installation and the public sector, Faber in skilled staff in the painting sector and in carpenters for construction. Following the approval of market overseer ‘Autoriteit Consument en Markt’, Cottus is added to the group. TEG strives for an ambitious and sustainable development which revolves around the candidate’s position.

The labels operate independently on the markets they cater for, whereby TEG acts as the facilitator in the field of the training of collaborators, governance & compliance, the sourcing & recruitment of candidates, and the further development of value propositions. “We are able in this manner to let our businesses develop into market leaders in their sector,” says Gelderblom.

Comprehensive investments in digital matching techniques

TEG invests in innovative digital techniques which are required to find the candidates who often are in short supply. For Voort, for instance, the digital matching platform ‘Boest’ has been developed. It allows collaborators and clients to find a good match fast.

Besides in digital innovation, TEG invests a lot in training and development options for candidates and its own staff. As the TEG labels aim for professions where there is a shortage of workers, having own means of training is essential. Thanks to these, staff and seconded workers of TEG are able to constantly develop themselves throughout their careers. Now that new labor market legislation (‘Wet arbeidsmarkt in Balans’, WAB) enters into effect as of January 2020, it is possible, for example, to have painters of Faber undergo training to become plumbers through the Cottus vocational schools, so they will have work in the winter, too.

Perfect fit with Cottus

Cottus seamlessly fits in with the portfolio of TEG. The company assigns technicians at an executive and intermediate level in electrical engineering, installation engineering, and civil engineering to clients. The company, which was once founded in Almelo, by now is operative from ten branches in the North, East, and South of the Netherlands. Cottus trains its employees at its own vocational training centers. At the moment, over 700 technicians and skilled workers are operative through Cottus.

Cottus continues to address clients and employees in the same trusted manner. The current management, led by Derk Meijer and Gerrit van Buul, remains in place. Thanks to this acquisition, Cottus can profit from the mediation platform, the hour-app, and the other IT infrastructure developed by TEG. For the hiring companies, this means that they obtain immediate access to a still wider offer of technical candidates from Voort and Koen. In addition, the vocational schools of Cottus will in the future be open to the skilled workers from the other labels of TEG. Gelderblom: “This creates positive cross-pollination generating a competitive edge for all parties.”

About The Employment Group

The Employment Group (TEG) is active with five specialized labels in the field of mediation for technical professionals and skilled workers in construction, the industrial and the public sector. Included in the company are the labels Voort, Koen, Faber Schilders, Faber Bouw, and Cottus. With as many as 37 branch offices and over 3,700 collaborators throughout the Netherlands, TEG is worth a turnover of more than EUR 200 million. TEG has been under the control of investment firm Egeria since 2016. www.theemploymentgroup.nl.

About Egeria
Egeria is an independent Dutch investment company founded in 1997, which focuses on medium-sized companies. Egeria invests in healthy companies with an enterprise value between EUR 50 million and EUR 350 million. Egeria Funds has investments in 10 companies, including IQI, The Employment Group, Dutch Bakery, Clondalkin, Dynniq, Ilionx, Trust, HITEC, GoodLife, and Nooteboom. Egeria’s portfolio companies have a combined turnover of over EUR 2.3 billion and employ close to 10,000 people. Besides private equity, Egeria has a long hold portfolio Egeria Evergreen with six companies, Egeria Real Estate Investments, and Egeria Real Estate Development. For more information, please visit: http://www.egeria.nl/en.