UKHospitality has called on the Government to provide hospitality-specific training in order to support businesses over the winter. 

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to provide some support for hospitality. Sector-specific training programmes can be a real boost for businesses and employees in our sector. 

“We are facing a bleak six months, with restrictions on trading and low consumer confidence. Government-backed training schemes can reduce the burden on hard-pressed businesses and give employees a chance to develop during a quiet winter.

“If the Government supports training in our sector, it will keep more jobs open and put us in a much stronger position to begin rebuilding next year.”

The hospitality industry represents 10% of UK employment, 6% of businesses and 5% of GDP. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is developing a long-term plan to ensure that as work changes, people can retrain and upskill to find new jobs.