Whitbread is launching three Food and Beverage Skills Academies across the UK in March to improve the specialist training of its restaurant and kitchen managers.

The company, which runs brands including Costa and Permier Inn, has invested more than £1 million in the academy programme so far, in a bid to ensure all of the 35,000 UK team members are ready to serve the customers expected in its hotels and restaurants this summer.

In a sector where many people are recruited with little or no qualifications, it is hoped Whitbread's Skills Academies will provide comprehensive courses ranging from food product information, food preparation and cooking through to meal presentation and customer service.

Over £1million has been invested in the three sites at Hockley Heath, Manchester and Swindon and Whitbread's vision is that the new Skills Academies will reposition the hospitality industry as an employer of choice, providing significant job creation and career development.

Andy Harrison, CEO of Whitbread said: "Whitbread is driven by our customers' needs on every occasion. At the start of 2011, we had 2,000 trained chefs, kitchen and restaurant managers. By December 2011, we had trained a further 7,500 team members to meet our customers' needs, providing great quality food and drink and the best customer service, and we hope 2012 will be even better."

Whitbread brands include Premier Inn, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Taybarns and Costa. The company employs more than 40,000 people globally and serves over 11 million customers every month in over 2,000 outlets across the UK.