Accor has announced this week that it intends to invest £5 million in employee training and create 3,500 new jobs in the UK over the next three years, confirming its commitment to providing learning and development support to its existing and future employees in the UK.

The French group has revealed its new Académie Accor campus in London, which is housed in the Novotel London West; the teaching facilities at the training centre (the first of its kind in the UK) will ensure staff development and career progression. Accor also announced a partnership with Babcock to further develop its Management Apprenticeship Programme.

This year, the scheme will employ 100 18-24 year olds and give them on-the-job training which will lead to a nationally recognised qualification. Additionally, the group's Student Placement Internships scheme has been formalised. This scheme will provide 100 paid 12-month placements each year to students on UK hospitality courses.

Also as part of its investment in training, Accor has launched an "in to work" programme called Hospitality Futures with the charity Springboard. The programme will provide 25 unemployed people between the ages of 18 and 24 with a starting job in the hospitality industry.

The candidates will undergo a nine-week course including five weeks of classroom training and on-the-job experience; Accor has stated that it aims to find every participant in the programme a job.

www.hvs.com