NORTHGATE Vehicle Hire, which has branches in Kidderminster, Cannock, Birmingham and Stoke, has announced plans to upskill its employees by offering an NVQ course in customer service to anyone who joins the company.

The NVQ will form part of new employee inductions.

The company will offer the nationally recognised qualification, which will take employees around a year to complete, free of charge. Northgate is providing the course to give employees in the Midlands the ability to provide customer service to a recognised national standard and develop existing customer service skills.

Along with the level 2 in customer service, Northgate will also offer qualifications in business administration and centre operations and a level 3 qualification in management.

Ian Dunn, head of training and development at Northgate PLC, said: “At Northgate we value our employees and their development and see a real benefit in offering qualifications and investing both time and money to help improve an individual’s career.”

Northgate Vehicle Hire has sites across 70 locations in the UK and Ireland, with its head office in Darlington.