Engage Partners

What Engage Partners does

Engage Partners Limited is a UK-headquartered recruitment agency founded in 2008 by Matt Ellis and Rob Harvey, providing introduction services and temporary worker supply primarily in the education and construction sectors. The company operates through a multi-brand structure with three core sub-brands—Engage Education (general teaching recruitment), Engage Services (non-teaching school positions), and Engage SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities recruitment)—allowing it to address distinct niches within UK schools. Headquartered in Watford with additional offices in London, Leeds, Brighton, and Manchester, Engage Partners also maintains international sourcing offices in Australia, South Africa, Canada, and Ireland, and supplies workers across the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the UAE.

The company generates revenue on a transaction-fee basis, earning placement fees for successful candidate introductions and supplying temporary workers directly to hiring companies without intermediaries. Its customer base spans the public sector—including the Department for Education and Crown Commercial Services—and the broader fragmented UK schools market, with a secondary vertical in construction staffing. No proprietary technology platform is disclosed; the operating model is relationship-driven and executed by in-house recruitment consultants matching candidates to client vacancies.

Engage Partners differentiates through an award-winning employer brand (ranked 7th Best Recruitment Company to Work For in the UK; three consecutive years of "World Class" employee engagement by 2024) and a regulated positioning as a Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) member operating under the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and Modern Slavery Act 2015 compliance. The business is founder-owned with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or institutional investment, and has steadily expanded its UK office footprint since founding.

Name

Engage Partners

Legal name

Engage Partners Limited

Website

https://engagepartners.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Engage Partners is a UK-headquartered recruitment agency providing introduction services and temporary worker supply to the education and construction sectors. Founded in 2008, it operates three specialist sub-brands—Engage Education, Engage Services, and Engage SEND—from five UK offices and four international sourcing locations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recruitment Services

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Agent of Record (AOR) / Contractor Engagement Services (BPACAGAB)

Keywords

• Education recruitment
• Construction staffing
• Temporary worker supply
• Teaching recruitment
• SEND specialist recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Watford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Recruitment Introduction Services: Engage Partners provides introduction services for temporary workers in the education and construction sectors, earning fees for successfully placing candidates with hiring companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Engage Partners is a recruitment agency that provides introduction services and supplies temporary workers to hiring companies, primarily in the UK education and construction sectors. It operates a parent-company structure with three specialist sub-brands — Engage Education (general teaching recruitment), Engage Services (non-teaching school staff), and Engage SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities recruitment) — and sources candidates both domestically and internationally.

Product overview

Engage Partners operates as a unified recruitment platform with a core parent company overseeing multiple specialized sub-brands. The main Engage Partners entity provides recruitment introduction services and temporary worker supply across education and construction sectors. Three subsidiary brands focus on specific education niches: Engage Education handles general teaching recruitment, Engage Services supports non-teaching school positions, and Engage SEND specializes in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities recruitment. The company supplies workers internationally across the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the UAE while serving UK-based hiring companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Engage Education: Award-winning education recruitment agency that specialises in matching quality candidates.
• Engage Services
• Engage SEND

Products and services

• Engage Partners Recruitment Services Recruitment introduction services and temporary worker supply for hiring companies, primarily in the UK education and construction sectors. Engages directly with schools, construction firms, and public sector bodies (Department for Education, Crown Commercial Services) and sources candidates both domestically and internationally.
• Engage Education An education recruitment agency specialising in matching quality teaching candidates with UK schools. Award-winning sub-brand under Engage Partners focused on teaching roles.
• Engage Services Recruitment service dedicated to helping schools recruit for non-teaching positions, including administrative and support staff.
• Engage SEND Recruitment service for enthusiastic and committed education professionals to work in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools and mainstream schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked 7th Best Recruitment Company to Work For in the UK
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Department for EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngage Partners works with the Department for Education as part of their education recruitment operations, aligning with government standards and requirements for staffing in educational institutions.
• Crown Commercial ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngage Partners is engaged with Crown Commercial Services for public sector recruitment procurement, ensuring compliance with government procurement standards.
• Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngage Partners is a member of the REC (www.rec.uk.com), adhering to industry best practices and standards for recruitment agencies.
• Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS)coreOthersEngage Partners operates under the regulatory oversight of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, ensuring compliance with employment agency regulations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Reed: One of the largest UK recruitment brands, with a dedicated Reed Education vertical serving schools and universities. Broader portfolio than Engage Partners, but direct overlap on the education staffing product.
• Randstad: Global staffing firm with UK operations across education, construction, and industrial verticals. Broader scale and breadth than Engage Partners, but directly comparable on the education and construction staffing intersection.
• Adecco: Global staffing group with a UK education and construction staffing offering. Larger and more diversified but operates similar agency-led placement models in Engage Partners' core verticals.
• Hays: Global recruitment group with a UK Education division placing teachers and education professionals. Wider functional and geographic spread, but comparable on UK education supply and on construction/professional placement.

Direct peers

• O'Neill & Brennan: UK-based construction and industrial recruitment specialist with a comparable agency-led temp and perm placement model. Strong direct overlap with Engage Partners' construction-sector vertical.
• Career Teachers: UK education recruitment firm placing teachers and support staff across primary, secondary, and SEND settings. Directly overlaps with Engage Partners on customer base and service mix.
• Protocol Education: UK education recruitment agency supplying teachers, teaching assistants, and SEN staff to schools. Closely comparable in vertical, customer base, and the supply of SEND specialists, mirroring Engage Partners' sub-brand structure.
• Academics Ltd: UK teacher recruitment agency focused on daily, short-term, and permanent teaching roles. Directly comparable vertical focus and customer base, with a similar specialist positioning within UK education.
• Tradewind Recruitment: UK education recruitment agency with strong SEND and mainstream teaching placement offering. Comparable sub-brand level specialism and customer base to Engage Partners.
• Teaching Personnel: One of the largest UK education recruitment specialists, placing teachers and support staff into schools. Directly comparable to Engage Partners on vertical (education), customer base (UK schools), and operating model (temp and permanent placement).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lifeatengage
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/engage-partners-uk
• Instagraminstagram.com/lifeatengage
• TikToktiktok.com/@lifeatengage

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Engage Partners