Northgate Vehicle Hire has demonstrated its commitment to employee learning and development by achieving Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) accreditation with management employees able to access the ILM diploma or certificate.

ILM is a renowned professional membership body, with 95,000 people registering for a qualification last year alone.

It provides industry-leading qualifications and currently represents more than 25,000 managers and leaders. Northgate employees will be welcomed on board from the end of February.

Ian Dunn, head of learning and development at Northgate, said: “At Northgate, our aim is to be an employer of choice.

“A major responsibility of any company is to plan for the development and growth of their people, something that we proactively look to achieve.

“We believe our responsibility is to nurture and develop our colleagues to help them achieve their potential.”

He continued: “As part of the City & Guilds Group, ILM represents a strategic initiative to support excellence in leadership and management at an individual, team and organisational level, and we look forward to seeing our employees excel in these areas.”

Northgate, with its head offices in Darlington, shows no signs of slowing down after a strong finish to the financial year, with pre-tax profits increasing by 70% year-on-year to £46.7 million, with plans to open a further seven branches in the next three months.