BrazilDutch provider of young professionals in IT Calco launches in Germany
Dutch IT professional services firm Calco has made its first international foray with market entry into Germany, Europe’s powerhouse economy.
With a team of around 475 employees, based in Maarssen, a town just outside of Utrecht, Calco is one of the larger providers of IT young professionals and contractors in the Netherlands. The company was founded in 2004 and has since booked stellar growth – garnering several accolodes for fast growth along the way – to bring the firm to where it is today.
The company has two main services areas. Its main pillar is its young professionals arm, which hires graduates and trains them to become esteemed IT professionals through a combination of training & education and practical on the job experience gained during placements at Calco clients. The majority of its placements are in the financial services sector, with its roster of clients including several of the leading banks, insurance companies and asset management firms in the Netherlands.
While in a crowded market, Calco’s young professionals offering differentiates itself in the scene through its focus on developing non-IT graduates into technology-savvy experts. Following an intensive two month ‘Calco MasterClass’, participating young professionals are staffed at one of the firm’s clients. After completion of the engagement, which typically lasts one to two years, the client can choose to keep the young professional on board by offering him/her a fixed term contract. Calco’s second main service area is staffing: the firm helps organisations fill in IT-related positions with mid-level/senior professionals on a temporary basis.
Against a backdrop of a booming digital economy, the IT labour market has come under much strain with many roles facing scarcity, driving up demand and wages. At the other side of the table, the large number of unfilled positions is putting a brake on the digital ambitions of organisations. Leveraging a combination of business aptitude and practical IT skills, Calco’s has become a popular go-to party for young IT talent.
Calco goes to Germany
Following the management buy-out Calco underwent earlier this year – as part of its strategy to accelerate growth – the company has now launched its first international venture. Supporting the growth ambition is Inflexion, the same private equity firm which invested in UK staffing agency FDM and then led the company to its successful IPO in 2014. “The business model of Calco, the market dynamics and the growth opportunities are similar to those we encountered at FDM,” said John Hartz, Managing Partner of Inflexion.
The new office in Frankfurt will adopt the same approach applied in the Netherlands, and target large German players in the financial services industry. To kick-start the operation, the professional services firm has hired a number of German-origin account managers and launched the first class fully dedicated to the German market. “We are delighted with the expansion into Germany. Our ambition is to build a similar position as we have in the Netherlands,” remarked Kelly Grooteman, CEO of Calco.
The expansion comes at a time when German financial services companies are anxiously eyeing digitisation to fend off the threat of disruption. A recent study by BearingPoint for instance found that digitalisation is the top priority for executives in the insurance sector, while in banking, large German banks, such as the currently unsettled giant Deutsche Bank, are seeking all kinds of digital avenues to lower their cost bases, which are higher than their US counterparts.
