The agreement between City and Guilds and the Hospitality Guild will see the two organisations work together to achieve the mutual objective of improving the standards of professional development in the hospitality industry.

Tony Sharp, industry, products & services manager at City & Guilds, said; “We are delighted to be working closely with the Hospitality Guild. At City & Guilds, we are all about helping people get into a job, progress on the job and move on to the next job.

“The hospitality industry is growing rapidly, which brings enormous career opportunities. We want to inspire people to discover their talents and unlock their potential so that they can gain the skills they need to succeed. As a founder of the Hospitality Guild, we look forward to helping shape the landscape of this exciting industry.”

Suzy Jackson, executive director for the Hospitality Guild, added: “The latest partnership with City and Guilds clearly demonstrates our commitment to improving the standards of professional development in the hospitality industry and the passion at the very highest level to help us achieve that goal. We are delighted to welcome them to the group of fantastic organisations we are working closely with.”

The refurbishment of Hospitality House is currently taking place and the venue will launch in September.

The building was donated rent-free by McDonald’s as the principal benefactor of Hospitality House, and industry suppliers and leading employers such as Gram Commercial, Electrolux, Heineken, Compass Group UK, Hilton and People 1st have also rallied to the cause, providing sponsorship and state of the art equipment for the facility. The building work is being carried out by Claremont Group Interiors.