Technology

Posted on April 17, 2018 by staff

Recruitment giant buys digital skills firm for £289m

Technology

Recruitment giant Adecco Group has acquired digital skills training specialist General Assembly in a deal worth £289 million.

General Assembly provides training in skills such as coding, data science, user experience design and digital marketing for individuals and corporations through full- and part-time courses.

Adecco Group CEO Alain Dehaze said there is a critical need to reskill workers due to the rise of automation.

“Our clients are looking for partners to improve access to scarce 21st-century skills and help navigate workforce transformation,” he said.

“Demand for digital skills is growing but supply remains constrained. The rise of automation also creates a critical need to re-skill workers, with as many as 375 million employees globally needing to transition to new roles by 2030.

“By offering General Assembly’s services alongside the Group’s existing talent development, career transition and professional staffing solutions we will be able to better respond to these client needs, enhancing both access to and the supply of the most in-demand skills.

“We look forward to working with the General Assembly team to build a dynamic and unique business together.”

General Assembly, which was founded in New York City in 2011, will continue to operate as a separate division within the Switzerland-headquartered Adecco Group under the leadership of founder and CEO Jake Schwartz.

Schwartz said: “General Assembly has always been about creating bridges between education and employment – that’s what has allowed us to scale to 20 campuses, 50,000 alumni, and over 300 Fortune 500 clients.

“As our work with employers has grown, so has our need to connect in a deeper way with the world of human capital, and that is why we are so excited about the transformational opportunities that come with this partnership.

“We chose the Adecco Group because it brings a multitude of strategic opportunities to serve enterprise clients, solve pervasive digital skills gaps, and align our offerings with the world-class brands that comprise the Adecco Group network.”

General Assembly’s 2017 revenues were around $100m.