Introducing U-Connect: The Brand-New Freelance Platform for Multilinguals in the Netherlands

As the demand for globally-minded talent continues to grow, U-Connect empowers freelance professionals to transform their expertise into rewarding opportunities and maximize their career potential across the dynamic Dutch labour market.

The Netherlands has a thriving international community and a robust economy that attracts talent from all over the world. With the increasing demand for flexible work arrangements, more internationals and businesses are utilizing freelance solutions. However, the multilingual freelance landscape can be difficult to navigate due to language barriers, and complex local regulations. U-Connect is designed specifically to tackle these challenges, helping both skilled freelancers and clients to connect, break down barriers, and unlock new opportunities.

U-Connect aims to streamline the process for both freelancers and companies by providing a user-friendly platform where businesses can post assignments and easily tap into a diverse pool of talented, multilingual professionals. Freelancers can showcase their skills and expertise while having direct access to a wide range of opportunities, from short-term projects to long-term collaborations.

The intuitive design of this self-service platform ensures a smooth experience for both freelancers and companies, with easy navigation, secure communications, and fast matching capabilities. U-Connect simplifies the process of connecting professionals through a single, powerful interface.

“We are thrilled to launch U-Connect, empowering multilingual freelancers to find exciting and dynamic work opportunities in the Netherlands,” said Nick van der Dussen, General Manager at Undutchables. “Our platform is designed to meet the evolving needs of both freelancers and businesses, ensuring that international talent can thrive in the Dutch market and that companies can effortlessly find the skilled professionals they need.”

With its official launch, U-Connect is set to become an essential resource for both freelancers looking to succeed in the Netherlands and companies eager to tap into a growing pool of global talent. The platform, powered by Undutchables Recruitment Agency, leverages over 28 years of expertise in multilingual recruitment to deliver a future-proof solution for the rapidly changing job market.

About Undutchables
Undutchables Recruitment Agency has been a leader in recruiting international and multilingual talent in the Netherlands since 1996. With U-Connect, we continue to build on our mission of helping skilled professionals find meaningful work in a diverse and competitive market.

For media inquiries or more information, please contact:
Kirsten Jansen
marketing@u-connect.nl
06-28238335
https://u-connect.nl

RecruitAgent.ai active in the German-speaking market

The tool is now available in German and uses labor market and candidate data from the DACH region, providing users with top-notch advice on pull factors (what your specific target audience values), recruitment feasibility, working conditions, and market-competitive salaries. Additionally, the multiposting shop from Raven51 has been integrated, enabling the direct posting of job ads. As a result, RecruitAgent.ai users in Germany need just 10 minutes to go from nothing (no job description or profile) to a job ad that is immediately posted on the right channels. A similar service is also being offered in the other German-speaking countries.

Recruit anywhere in the world

With RecruitAgent.ai, you can recruit in any language and in over 100 countries worldwide, in just minutes. From job boards to social media. It also provides advice on which agencies are best suited to reach your target audience.

RecruitAgent.ai launched in a test phase in the Netherlands on May 1, 2023, and has since become a serious and mature player within the recruitment industry, now expanding into the DACH region. “In the next two years, we aim to roll out RecruitAgent.ai across the rest of Europe, and potentially beyond. With our technology and scalability, we are now able to do so, and the national refinements are crucial to being successful at the local level,” says Ronald van Driel, co-founder of RecruitAgent.ai.

The strength of local partners

In Germany, RecruitAgent.ai is partnering with Raven51, the most data-driven and modern job marketing agency in the country.

“By joining forces with this local champion, RecruitAgent.ai users are assured of the best quality and speed available in the German language,” says Ronald van Driel.

RecruitAgent.ai is free to use, except for media placements. https://recruitagent.ai/

For more information: Co-founder: Ronald van Driel
ronald@recruitagent.ai

Lightcast Expands Global Talent Intelligence Capabilities with Acquisition of Stratigens

Stratigens, founded in 2017 by Alison Ettridge, has built a reputation for its innovative approach to solving business challenges through data science and analytics. Their expertise spans a range of critical areas, including identifying new skill pools, attracting and developing talent, and providing insights for strategic decisions on company growth and relocation.

The synergy between Lightcast and Stratigens has been evident since 2022, when Stratigens began leveraging Lightcast’s labor market data in conjunction with their proprietary algorithms. This collaboration has benefited major corporations like Stryker and EY, helping them make data-driven decisions about skills demand and talent strategies.

Chris Kibarian, CEO of Lightcast, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating: “Lightcast and Stratigens share customer-centric philosophies. Alison’s approach to helping customers make sense of the data with the solid platform her team built is consultative, high-touch, and collaborative—she’s a true partner. By coming together, we’ll have even richer talent intelligence data to help more companies develop data-driven strategies for building a future-ready workforce.”

As part of the acquisition, Alison Ettridge will join Lightcast as Director of Global Talent Intelligence. Ettridge commented on the merger: “With Lightcast and Stratigens coming together, the depth of data quality and intelligence will enable companies to plan competitive talent and growth strategies. It’s exciting that we’re now able to offer customers the most well-rounded approach possible. Stratigens’ creativity and willingness to support the client merged with the quality and resources within Lightcast is a winning combination.”

This acquisition follows Lightcast’s recent expansion of its global labour data, announced in February 2024. The move aims to assist business and talent leaders in making better skills-based decisions across different geographies, languages, and job taxonomies.

JP Moran, Executive Vice President of Enterprise and Staffing at Lightcast, emphasized its focus on expanding its geographic footprint: “For years we’ve been focused on expanding our geographic footprint, providing our customers with a more holistic view of the global workforce. With this acquisition, we’re looking forward to increasing our presence in Europe and building upon the solid relationships Stratigens has made in the talent intelligence space.”

Industry professionals interested in learning more about these developments can attend the Global Talent Intelligence Conference in September. Those attending can join Ettridge’s Main Stage 2 session at 12 pm CEST on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

Read more

Alison Ettridge (Stratigens): You can use Talent Intelligence to predict your competitors next move

Revelio Labs Revolutionizes Job Market Analysis with COSMOS

COSMOS boasts an impressive collection of over 2 billion job postings from 5.25 million companies worldwide. This vast dataset is available in over 100 languages, making it a global resource. The information is meticulously sourced from 270,000 employer websites and all major job boards, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the job market.

Innovative Features

COSMOS introduces several groundbreaking features to the job market analysis landscape. It is the first job posting dataset to weigh each posting on its expected hires, addressing the reality that not all postings lead to hires, and some postings represent many openings.

Each job posting in COSMOS is fully parsed into sections and augmented with unique enrichments. These include assessing a job’s suitability for remote work, the activities to be performed, the skills required, the predicted salary, and the benefits. Job postings are continuously sourced, normalized, and mapped in a feed that refreshes daily to ensure the most up-to-date information.

Industry Impact

Ben Zweig, CEO of Revelio Labs, commented on the launch: “We’ve been analyzing legacy job postings for years now, but there were always quality issues and we felt like customers have deserved better for a long time. Given our existing infrastructure and technology, we feel well-positioned to bring a truly rich and sophisticated view of labor demand to the market. We figured we would still have some of the common problems that lead to down-times and restatements, but the results have been extraordinary. We have a very mature infrastructure which allows us to achieve unparalleled reliability and speed,” said Ben Zweig, CEO of Revelio Labs. “I’m primarily excited that we get to offer this to our customers, and, selfishly, I’m excited to start analyzing the data for our own research.”

COSMOS’s breadth of coverage and granularity make it the most complete solution for predicting company performance, competitive analyses, talent analytics, and talent sourcing.

Industry leaders are already recognizing COSMOS’s impact. Max Leaming, Vice President of Global Insights at ManpowerGroup, praised the innovation: “Revelio Labs has altered the landscape of labour market data by introducing much-needed innovation that significantly enhances the development of custom analytics. Their approach allows us to achieve unprecedented scale and speed in our analytics processes. As a highly responsive and valued partner, Revelio Labs consistently provides exceptional service and support, establishing themselves as a cornerstone of our analytics pipeline.”

COSMOS joins the suite of other workforce datasets in the Revelio Labs universe. The data is accessible via data feed, API, dashboard, and reports, providing flexible options for businesses of all sizes and technical capabilities.

Learn More

Don’t miss Global Talent Intelligence, featuring Ben Zweig, CEO of Revelio Labs, as the speaker. 

GTIC

Monster and CareerBuilder Merger: Strengthening Job Opportunities for Talent and Employers

The combination of Monster and CareerBuilder combines two robust, trusted and complementary brands to create a job board with grander scale and reach. As the world of work continues to evolve, this combination will allow both businesses to benefit from shared resources and solutions to deliver more excellent value and opportunities to both talent and employers. Together, both companies can more effectively respond to prevailing trends in the market to deliver enhanced growth.

Under the terms of the agreement, existing CareerBuilder investors, including Apollo Funds, will collectively hold a controlling interest in the joint venture, and Randstad will hold a minority equity interest. The transaction has no material financial impact on Randstad.

The combined entity’s management team will comprise senior leaders from both companies. In due course, additional decisions regarding the combined company, including branding, will be determined.

The agreement is subject to customary regulatory approvals, and the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2024.

Scott Gutz, CEO of Monster, said: “Through the combination of Monster and CareerBuilder we combine two trusted brands and best-in-class solutions to create a stronger job board for our talent and employers. Together, we are well positioned to benefit from the rapid growth and evolution in talent acquisition and help candidates and employers find the right fit.”

Jeff Furman, CEO of CareerBuilder, said: “We are thrilled to make this announcement, bringing together two industry leaders to create a force in the market. This strategic move will harness the strengths and expertise of both organizations, enabling us to deliver even greater value to our customers and stakeholders. By uniting our innovative teams and leveraging our complementary capabilities, we are poised to help shape the industry’s future. Together, we are stronger and better equipped to meet the evolving needs of the marketplace.”

In connection with the transaction, PJT Partners served as financial advisor, and Sidley, Vedder Price, and Paul Weiss served as legal counsel for CareerBuilder. Jefferies served as a financial advisor, and Jones Day served as legal counsel for Randstad. PWC and EY also provided financial advice to CareerBuilder and Randstad.

LTG sells VectorVMS to PIXID Group

VectorVMS is a leading vendor management platform for contingent labour with operations predominantly in North America and the UK. By way of background, VectorVMS was acquired as part of the $150 million PeopleFluent acquisition in 2018 and was subsequently separated into an independent business and brand later that year. For the full year ended 31 December 2023, Vector generated revenue and Adjusted EBIT of $11.4m and $7.1 million respectively.

The sale of Vector is part of LTG’s announced strategy to actively manage the portfolio, sharpening our focus on learning and talent development. The sale of Vector follows the completed disposals of Lorien Engineering Solutions and TTI in 2023.

The Board of Directors will consider the use of proceeds from the Vector divestiture and provide an update to the market in due course. The transaction is expected to close in July 2024.

About LTG
Learning Technologies Group plc (LTG) is a leader in the growing workplace digital learning and talent management market. The Group offers end-to-end learning and talent solutions ranging from strategic consultancy, through a range of content and platform solutions to analytical insights that enable corporate and government clients to close the gap between current and future workforce capability.

LTG is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (LTG.L) and headquartered in London. The Group has offices in Europe, North America, South America and Asia-Pacific.

About VectorVMS
VectorVMS was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. VectorVMS combines innovative and trusted technology with in-depth industry expertise to create specialised contingent workforce programmes. Vector’s configurable digital platform enables organisations to have full visibility into their contingent labour programs, giving them the confidence to maintain compliance, reduce costs and drive efficiency in their extended workforce. Vector has operations across the USA, Canada and the UK. Vector was acquired by LTG plc as part of the $150 million PeopleFluent acquisition in 2018 and was subsequently separated into an independent business and brand later that year.

About PIXID Group
PIXID Group (“PIXID”) was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Paris, France. PIXID is the largest European vendor management SaaS platform, offering comprehensive solutions for digitalising the management and oversight of flexible resources. Initially specialising in temporary staffing, PIXID now provides a wide array of services, including the management of permanent contracts, fixed-term contracts, internships, and apprenticeships. With a dedicated team of nearly 250 employees across Paris, Rotterdam, London, Antwerp, and now the USA, PIXID supports thousands of businesses, ranging from small enterprises to large corporations, with a spend estimated at nearly 11 billion euros on a yearly basis on PIXID platforms. Keensight Capital, one of the leading private equity managers dedicated to pan-European Growth Buyout investments, acquired a majority stake in PIXID In 2015.

BREAKING NEWS: Bullhorn acquires Textkernel

The two companies have been collaborating intensively for some time. However, Bullhorn’s complete takeover comes as a surprise. Recently, Textkernel acquired several companies, including Sovren, Akyla, Wiseguys, and Joboti. Now, the original Dutch company has found itself in the opposite role as an acquisition target. The exact amount of money involved in the deal has not been disclosed, but it is expected to be several million euros.
The exact amount of money involved in the deal has not been disclosed, but it is expected to be several million euros.
“In 2019, Textkernel’s shares were transferred to CareerBuilder, only to be transferred again to the Dutch investor Main Capital Partners less than two years later. For example, former Connexys founder Jan van Goch resumed his role as advisor to Textkernel, leveraging the matching technology he had previously collaborated with until Bullhorn acquired Connexys.”

More than 1 billion job vacancies

Textkernel currently analyzes more than 1.3 billion job vacancies annually worldwide. These data provide customers with a comprehensive view of the global labour market for strategic insights or business development leads. Textkernel’s technology was previously integrated into the Bullhorn Marketplace, allowing recruiters to conduct international candidate searches in multiple languages and automatically process incoming applications in 15 languages, speeding up the process by 90% compared to manual entry of CV data.

Earlier this year, Bullhorn also announced the acquisition of Mployee, a provider of Salesforce-based solutions for the staffing industry in the Netherlands. Mployee’s technology will accelerate Bullhorn’s vision to deliver a complete end-to-end enterprise solution to Bullhorn customers using the Salesforce platform.

Major step forward

Gerard Mulder

“This is a ‘major step forward’ for Textkernel and Bullhorn,” responds Textkernel CEO Gerard Mulder. “Together, we will add tremendous value to the staffing and recruitment industry through our leading platforms, rich data, AI capabilities, and search & match technology. I can’t wait to get started! What’s even better is that we will continue to offer all that technology and expertise to the Recruitment and HRTech community, as Textkernel has done for 23 years. This time, with even greater strength behind us. Thanks to all the amazing people at Bullhorn, Textkernel, Main Capital Partners, and District Capital Partners for making this possible.”

“I can’t wait to get started!”

Matthew Fischer, president and COO of Bullhorn, also envisions a promising future following the complete acquisition of Textkernel. “Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company serves over 2,000 customers globally, including 8 of the top 10 largest staffing firms worldwide and Fortune 500 companies. Textkernel and Bullhorn have been long-standing trusted partners in the staffing and recruitment industry, sharing a crucial strategic goal: empowering recruiters to digitally transform their businesses for the future and maximize the use of AI in the industry.”

The next chapter

Fischer particularly praises Textkernel’s parsing technology, which processes information from job vacancies and CVs. “This technology is unmatched and will be crucial to our AI strategy. The combination of Textkernel and Bullhorn will significantly assist organizations in addressing their talent-sourcing challenges and winning new business. The acquisition of Textkernel accelerates our AI strategy significantly and unlocks the next chapter of solutions we can offer customers.”

“The acquisition of Textkernel unlocks the next chapter of solutions we can offer to customers.”

Fischer congratulates CEO Gerard Mulder, COO Guus Meijer, and the entire leadership team of Textkernel, welcoming them into the Bullhorn family. “This acquisition is a significant step forward for us, and we are committed to maximizing its potential for the benefit of our customers. I am optimistic about the impactful solutions emerging from merging our teams and our shared dedication to advancing AI in the talent sourcing landscape.” Mulder and Fischer will soon provide more insights into the collaboration through a joint webinar.