Whitbread has pledged to invest £5.7m in a scheme to hire 6,000 apprentices by 2020.
The company has been praised by David Cameron after agreeing to offer 1,200 apprenticeships each year for the next five years.
A new Costa apprenticeships programme will also be launched providing an intermediate apprenticeship in customer service and barista skills, which will open for applications in the summer.
The company also set targets to place 7,500 young people on work experience placements and offer 6,500 employment placements by 2020 across its brands.
Chief executive Andy Harrison said: “Our 45,000 team members are our greatest asset and it’s vital we invest in them, creating opportunities to develop their skills and build their careers.
“We will commit £5.7m to our apprenticeship programmes over the next five years.
“I firmly believe that investing in apprenticeships is essential to Whitbread’s future success and to the health of the UK economy, as well as helping the next generation to achieve their full potential.”
The scheme will be officially launched by the Prime Minister today.
He said: “There really has never been a better time to start an apprenticeship and it’s a huge leap forward to have Whitbread, one of Britain’s leading employers in the hospitality industry, hiring even more apprentices.
“We want apprenticeships to be level-pegging with a university degree giving millions more people the dignity of work and a regular pay packet.”
