Enterprise Rent-A-Car, part of the world's largest vehicle rental company, Enterprise Holdings, was recently awarded the gradireland Diversity Recruitment Award for 2016.

Now in its 10th year, the awards celebrate achievement and innovation in the area of graduate recruitment and were attended by major stakeholders in the graduate recruitment industry, including government and business leaders, graduate employers, academics, careers professionals and key decision-makers.

Enterprise took home the top prize in the diversity category and was up against some impressive competition including entries from Accenture, Dell, Deutsche Bank, EMC, EY and KPMG. This is the company's third time to receive the diversity award in the last four years, which recognises Enterprise's commitment to providing every employee with an inclusive workplace that offers the flexibility, training and opportunities to succeed and progress.

In rewarding the prize, gradireland also recognised and credited Enterprise's innovative partnership initiatives with AHEAD and GLEN (Gay and Lesbian Equality Network) and its 'job shadowing' programme for female employees to develop their leadership skills for future management positions.

Leslee O'Loughlin, Group Human Resource Manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ireland said, "For the first time in eight years, it is a good time to be a graduate in Ireland. As Ireland Inc returns to a stable footing and the economy continues to grow, the fight is on for companies to attract and retain talent coming out of third level and post graduate courses.  For Enterprise Rent-A-Car, providing a positive culture and working environment is a top selling point for us when attracting graduates and we'd like to think we are ahead of the curve when it comes to our work place diversity initiatives. Partnering with GLEN, for example, as a Diversity Champion gives us access to invaluable resources and expertise - helping us to build a truly inclusive and supportive working environment for all and allowing everyone to thrive regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity".

George O'Connor, Managing Director of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ireland, said "We're very pleased to have won the diversity recruitment award for the third time in four years. Diversity makes us stronger as a business. It gives Enterprise different perspectives, more skills, and greater flexibility, which can ultimately lead to increased productivity and even a happier workplace. Initiatives such as our Job Shadow Day and our female mentoring programme are just some of the ways in which Enterprise Rent-A-Car works to retain and develop a diverse workforce.  Enterprise is fully committed to ensuring that our female employees have every opportunity to develop the necessary skills to progress into senior leadership positions within the organisation."

"The proof is in the pudding - in the past 18 months we have seen no fewer than seven females promoted to management roles here in Ireland, the majority of whom started  with us through our Management Training Programme, bringing our total women in management figure to more than one-third of the entire management team," George concluded.