Over the past eighteen years, Ephram and his teams have successfully placed over 10,000 people into permanent jobs and over 25,000 people into temporary assignments at every level of the Mining, Oil & Gas, Engineering, Construction, Facilities Management and Building Industries throughout Australia.
Having lived in England, Jordan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and finally Australia for some decades, Ephram developed extensive recruitment experience here and beyond; particularly in executive search for top-tier professionals and every aspect of recruitment in its complex forms.
Serial entrepreneur Ephram has founded and co-founded several successful recruitment businesses within the last decade specialising in mining, oil & gas, executive search, facilities management, insurance, finance, sales, accounting, software & IT and property & construction.
Collar Group has been recognised by the Australian Business Journal as one of the Top Talent Management Agencies to watch in 2022
We are Australia’s leading recruiter for the mining, oil & gas, hospitality, transport, construction, infrastructure, and resources sectors.
Established in 2021, we specialise in large and small volume recruitment throughout Australia and have one of the industry’s most successful recruitment teams who specialise in placing hundreds of candidates weekly. From trades to chefs, executives to cleaners to office support & project managers to geologists & administrators. So If you’re in the industry and you’re looking for new staff on a temporary or permanent basis – or a new job – Collar Group can help.
We have 33 experienced consultants, and they all have specialist expertise. Either years of recruiting for the industry or years of hands-on experience working in the industry, or both.
Just as importantly, these consultants were chosen, not just for their expertise, but also for their passion, honesty, and customer service. They love the industry and they’re dedicated to making a difference in it. By finding the right candidate for every role and the right role for every candidate.
This is a commitment that our CEO, Ephram Stephenson, proactively fosters. An 18-year industry seasoned leader himself, he established the company on that very foundation, and he still leads from the front. He plays an active role in every client engagement, and personally maintains authentic connections with a great many of our candidates.
From our offices in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane & Adelaide, Collar Group services the entire Australian region. We have more than 100 national clients and a database of more than 1,250,000 industry-specific candidates – both active and passive.
In fact, it’s our industry networks & exclusive relationships with our passive candidates that really set us apart.
For more details, visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Ephram, to know a bit more about his journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Ephram: To do recruitment a better way with a 100% customer-centric approach.
Q. How did you get started?
Ephram: Started my first recruitment agency from my bedroom and grew it to $60M Turnover business with five offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth & London
Q. What was your biggest startup challenge? What steps did you take to overcome it? What did you learn?
Ephram: Scaling a new start-up during Covid while being in a lockdown in Melbourne. I founded a Recruitment Agency with one shareholder & one director (me) during Covid – recognised a niche in the market and hired the industry’s most talented recruitment team call via Zoom and scaled the business to Melbourne, Brisbane & Perth, and then exited via a management buyout all within 18 months from launch.
Q. What is the Most Memorable Thing You’ve Done Since you Started your Business?
Ephram: Stepped down as Executive Director of my previous start-up and handed back my equity to the founder. On a Tuesday, me and my wife found out we were expecting our first baby, on Wednesday went into the office and called a board meeting where I handed back my equity and resigned, then on Thursday launched Collar from scratch
Q. What is one book you recommend, and why?
Ephram: The four-hour workweek – this book really resonated with me that you don’t need to work like a maniac to achieve happiness.
Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?
Ephram: Being Australia’s most successful recruitment entrepreneur and now having 12 recruitment businesses under my belt the knowledge and experience I have gained over the years now implementing the knowledge and experience in the Collar business sets us apart from the competition and is a huge competitive edge
Q. In one sentence, what’s the best advice you’d give to someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey?
Ephram: Treat everyone as you expect to be treated
To Disrupt or be disrupted.
To keep up to date with Ephram and his journey, connect with him on LinkedIn.
