What Ian Martin Group does

Ian Martin Group Inc., operating under the service mark Raise, is a Canadian-incorporated staffing and recruitment firm founded in 1960 and headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. The company places contract and direct-hire workers across verticals including manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, mining, oil and gas, power, healthcare, and IT, acting as the employer of record for W-2, T4, and 1099 contractors in North America. Revenue is generated through margin on contractor hourly bill rates and contingency fees on permanent placements, with no public pricing disclosed. Operations span twelve offices in six countries (Canada, the US, India, the Philippines, Singapore, Ghana), supporting both the Canadian home market and offshore delivery.

The technology stack is centered on the Raise job-seeker portal (raise.jobs) and the employer-facing RaiseRecruiting.com, combined with a web and mobile contractor portal for onboarding, time tracking, expense submission, and paystub/tax-form access. Operational integrations include Dayforce (HR and payroll, Canadian T4 delivery), Webtime (mobile/tablet time entry), SAP Fieldglass (time and expense with project/cost-center coding), Plaid (direct deposit bank account linking), Yoti (remote identity verification), and E-Verify (US work eligibility). The talent community feature tracks candidate availability and preferences and proactively surfaces matching roles. AI is applied to resume screening and job matching with humans making final decisions, and a skills-based hiring assessment product offers content tests and custom workplace scenarios.

Go-to-market is sales-led on the employer side, supported by content marketing, organic social on LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and direct outreach via talent communities. The company is a certified B Corporation and donates 10% of profits to charity; it has published JEDI, Environmental, Indigenous Employment, and Supplier Diversity policies and operates a first-of-its-kind Indigenous Recruiter Training Program. Disclosed partnerships include the Lyft Talent Network (gig-to-professional placement), a dedicated hiring program for Enbridge supply chain roles, and staffing support for Epiq. A Quebec Temporary Placement Agency License (AP-2000825) is held alongside full jurisdictional license compliance.

Name

Ian Martin Group

Legal name

Ian Martin Group Inc.

Website

https://raise.jobs

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Ian Martin Group, operating as Raise, is a Canadian-founded (1960) staffing and recruitment firm placing contract and direct-hire workers across manufacturing, IT, energy, and healthcare, with employer-of-record services delivered from twelve offices in six countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Staffing Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)

Keywords

• Staffing and recruitment
• Contingent workforce solutions
• Contract placement services
• Professional talent acquisition
• Direct hire placement

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakville

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Staffing and Recruitment Services: The company generates revenue by placing contract workers and finding candidates for employers. They act as the employer of record for W-2, T4, and 1099 contractors, handling payroll, benefits, and compliance while earning margins on hourly bill rates.
2. Direct Hire Placement: Placement of permanent employees for client companies, likely through contingency fee arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ian Martin Group, operating under the Raise brand, is a staffing and recruitment firm that connects professional and technical job seekers with contract and direct-hire opportunities at client companies. The company acts as employer of record for W-2, 1099, and T4 contractors, handling payroll, benefits, and compliance while placing candidates across industries such as manufacturing, IT, power and energy, aerospace, automotive, and healthcare.

Product overview

Ian Martin Group operates Raise, a talent recruitment and workforce management platform. The core offering includes the Raise Job Search Platform for job seekers and RaiseRecruiting.com for employers. Supporting infrastructure includes the Raise Contractor Portal (web/mobile app) for onboarding, time tracking (via Webtime and SAP Fieldglass integration), expense management, invoicing, and professional development courses. The platform also offers specialized programs including an Indigenous Recruiter Training Program and supports multiple worker classifications (W-2, 1099, T4 employees, and Independent Consultants).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RaiseRecruiting.com: A platform for companies who want to hire staff, part of the Raise ecosystem for employer/client services.

Products and services

• Raise Job Search Platform Online job marketplace operated by Raise that connects professional and technical job seekers with contract and direct-hire opportunities. The platform features job search, professional talent communities for proactive matching, and AI-assisted job recommendations reaching candidates when matching positions open.
• RaiseRecruiting.com Dedicated website where companies and organizations can engage Raise to source contingent and permanent staff across professional, technical, and industrial roles.
• Raise Contractor Portal Web and mobile portal used by placed contractors to complete onboarding, access paystubs and tax forms, track time, submit expenses, and generate invoices. Supports multiple worker classifications including W-2, 1099, T4, and Independent Consultants.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• LyftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRaise operates the Lyft Talent Network, a specialized recruitment partnership connecting Lyft drivers with professional opportunities when they want to transition out of rideshare work.
• EnbridgeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRaise has a dedicated hiring program for Enbridge supply chain roles, providing specialized recruitment services for energy sector positions.
• EpiqminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRaise provides staffing support for Epiq with dedicated FAQ resources for both USA and Canada operations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Randstad: One of the world's largest staffing and HR services companies with global reach across all major verticals — competes broadly with Raise but operates at much larger scale and as an incumbent generalist.
• Indeed (Recruit Holdings): Largest global job-search and recruitment marketplace, with adjacent staffing services via Indeed Hire — competes with Raise for candidate attention and employer spend at scale.
• ManpowerGroup: Global workforce solutions and staffing company with deep multinational footprint — competes with Raise across geographies and verticals, but at substantially larger scale.
• Adecco Group: Global staffing leader with broad coverage across general staffing, professional placement, and workforce solutions — a broad incumbent whose portfolio overlaps materially with Raise's offerings.

Direct peers

• Kelly Services: Global staffing and workforce solutions provider covering professional, industrial, and technical segments — directly comparable to Raise's contract and direct-hire offerings across multiple industries.
• Robert Half International: Large publicly traded staffing firm with deep presence in professional, technical, and finance/accounting placement — directly comparable to Raise's professional/technical staffing focus and multi-vertical model.
• Hays plc: Global professional staffing firm specializing in mid-to-senior technical, engineering, and IT placements across multiple geographies — closely mirrors Raise's multi-vertical, internationally distributed model.
• Aerotek: Specialized staffing firm focused on industrial, engineering, manufacturing, and technical placements — directly overlaps with Raise's Manufacturing & Industrial vertical and skilled-trades focus.
• Insight Global: Large private staffing firm with strong IT, professional, and engineering placement practices — directly comparable to Raise's IT and technical staffing verticals and contract/direct-hire model.

Emerging players

• Toptal: AI-enabled talent marketplace for elite freelance technology and business professionals — competes with Raise for the same professional/technical contractor pool but via a marketplace model with different economics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ianmartingroup
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@raiserecruiting/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/15465
• Instagraminstagram.com/raiserecruiting
• Facebookfacebook.com/IanMartinGroup

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Ian Martin Group