The Employment Group

What The Employment Group does

The Employment Group B.V. (TEG) is a privately held Dutch staffing holding company headquartered in Hooglanderveen, Netherlands, that specializes in payrolling, recruitment, and vocational training for scarce craft labor markets. Founded on the principle that growth begins with development, TEG operates two wholly-owned specialist labels: Faber (established 2005), focused on painters, carpenters and masons in the construction and painting sector, and Cottus (established 2008), focused on welders, mechatronics engineers, electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians in civil engineering, installation technology, industry and high-tech sectors. Both labels operate their own vocational schools (vakscholen) to train, retrain and continuously upskill workers, addressing structural Dutch labor shortages in construction (~68,000 open vacancies) and technical sectors (~70,000 open vacancies) plus an estimated 25,000 additional roles tied to the national energy transition.

The group serves approximately 750 clients across roughly 20 branch locations nationwide (about 13 Faber sites and 7 Cottus sites), with Faber placing around 1,100 workers and Cottus around 400, totaling approximately 1,500 employees. Named customers span large industrial and technical-services groups (VDL, Unica, Energiewacht, Van Dam Groep, Eoton, Storteboom), mid-market firms (THM, Lenferink, Talen Onderhoud, SDK Elektrotechniek) and SMB painting contractors (Schildersbedrijf Salet, Camp Schilderwerken). Revenue mechanics consist of payrolling pass-through plus placement and mediation fees; pricing is not publicly disclosed and contracts appear bespoke. Group annual turnover is approximately €90 million.

TEG's underlying operating model combines local branch-based account management with a centralized digitalization, innovation, IT, HR(M) and administration function at the holding level. The stated technology stack centers on data-driven insights intended to support personal matching between candidates and employers, but no proprietary AI/ML models, APIs or platform integrations are disclosed. The company is family-owned (Lamberts family), led by CEO Freek Lamberts and CFO Evert-Jan de Groot, is GDPR/AVG compliant, and operates exclusively within the Netherlands with no public listing or external private equity investment on record.

Name

The Employment Group

Legal name

The Employment Group B.V.

Website

https://www.employmentgroup.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Employment Group is a Dutch privately held staffing holding company operating the Faber and Cottus labels to recruit, payroll, and train scarce craft workers (painters, carpenters, masons, welders, electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians) for construction, painting, and technical/industrial clients across approximately 20 Netherlands branch locations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Staffing and Recruitment Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (561320), Professional Employer Organizations (561330), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Services (5613), Apprenticeship Training (611513)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Skilled Trades (Electricians/Plumbers/HVAC/Carpenters) Staffing (BPACAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Manufacturing & Production Line Staffing (BPACAEAC), Professional Employer Organization (PEO) / Co-Employment Services (BPACAHAB), Onboarding, Offboarding & Employee Lifecycle Administration (BPACAHAL)

Keywords

• Technical staffing services
• Construction industry recruitment
• Painting trade staffing
• Vocational training programs
• Temporary worker placement

Headquarters

HQ city

Hooglanderveen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Staffing and mediation services: Connecting skilled workers (craft professionals) with employers in technical, construction, and painting sectors. Services include mediation, employment, temporary staffing, detachment, and payroll services.
2. Training and development: Own vocational schools (vakscholen) providing initial training, retraining, and continuing education for craft workers. Both labels offer development opportunities and training programs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Employment Group (TEG) is a Dutch staffing platform operating through two specialist labels — Faber (construction and painting) and Cottus (technical sectors) — that provide mediation, temporary staffing, payroll, and training services connecting skilled craft workers with employers in scarce labor markets across the Netherlands. The company runs its own vocational schools (vakscholen) to train and retrain craft workers, addressing structural labor shortages in the construction, painting, and technical industries.

Product overview

The Employment Group (TEG) is an innovative staffing platform consisting of two specialist labels—Faber and Cottus—that connect skilled workers with employers in scarce labor market sectors. Faber specializes in the construction and painting industry (painters, carpenters, masons), while Cottus focuses on technical sectors (civil engineering, building & installation technology, industry & high-tech). Both labels operate their own vakscholen (trade schools) to train and develop workers, addressing scarcity through bemiddeling (mediation) and opleiden (training). The holding company TEG supports the labels with digitalisering (digitalization), innovatie (innovation), IT, HR(M), and administration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Faber: Specialist staffing label focused on construction and painting industry - painters, carpenters, masons. Operates own vakschool (vocational school) and matches skilled workers with employers. Active since 2005. 1100 workers, 500 clients, 13 branches including vakschool.
• Cottus

Products and services

• Faber staffing services Specialist staffing and mediation label under The Employment Group that connects skilled painters, carpenters, and masons with construction and painting companies in the Netherlands. Operates its own vakschool (vocational school) for training and retraining to address labor scarcity in the building and painting industry.
• Cottus staffing services Specialist staffing label under The Employment Group that connects qualified technical professionals (welders, plumbers, electricians, mechatronics engineers) with employers in industry, installation technology, and high-tech sectors. Operates own vakscholen (vocational schools) for initial training and retraining.
• Vakscholen vocational training

Quantifiable outcome

• 2 specialist labels serving scarce labor market sectors with combined 1500 workers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ADECCO Group: One of the world's largest staffing firms with strong European and specifically Dutch operations across construction, industrial, and technical segments. Competes head-to-head with TEG for trades and industrial placement work.
• ManpowerGroup: Global staffing provider with established Netherlands operations across industrial, technical, and construction trades. Directly comparable in serving enterprise clients with flexible craft and technical workforce solutions.
• Brunel International: Dutch-headquartered specialist in technical staffing and project-based workforce solutions for energy, engineering, and industrial clients. Closely comparable to Cottus's technical and mechatronics focus.
• Vakwerkt: Dutch specialist staffing platform focused on construction and technical trades. Highly comparable to Faber and Cottus on craft-focused placement in the Netherlands.
• Tempo-Team: Major Dutch staffing brand (owned by Randstad) covering industrial, technical, and administrative segments. Overlaps with both Faber and Cottus on Dutch craft and technical placement.
• Olympia: Dutch staffing firm with broad coverage across administrative, industrial, and technical segments. Competes for similar SMB and mid-market clients in the Netherlands.
• Randstad: Global staffing leader headquartered in the Netherlands with significant Dutch construction and technical staffing exposure. Directly competes with TEG's Faber and Cottus labels for the same client base, though at much larger scale and broader scope.

Broad incumbents

• OTTO Work Force: Major European staffing provider with strong Netherlands and Germany presence in industrial and technical segments. Comparable to TEG's Cottus division on international worker deployment and industrial placement.
• Michael Page: Global specialist recruitment firm with established Netherlands operations across technical, engineering, and construction functions. Overlaps with TEG in technical professional placement, though at a higher-skill tier.
• RGF Staffing (Recruit Group): European staffing umbrella that acquired USG People; offers broad coverage across Dutch industrial, technical, and administrative staffing at significant scale relative to TEG.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/freek-lamberts-b37a706

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Employment Group