The London Development Agency will invest £3.5m over the next four years in a bid to train and recruit high-quality chefs, hotel managers, tour guides and other tourism and hospitality staff for London.

According to a recent report by the organisation, up to two-fifths of hospitality firms in the capital have difficulty recruiting staff. The hospitality sector accounts for some 430,000 jobs in London and is vital to the city’s economy.

The LDA has now put together an action plan which will run courses for catering staff, among other things, in skills such as cigar choice and cocktail-making.

The courses begin in January 2005 for around 1,500 people who already work in the industry.