Premier Inn has announced it will create 8,000 new jobs over the next five years due its rapid expansion plans, with the chain planning to open a new hotel every ten days.

The announcement was made at the official opening of Premier Inn’s latest hotel, London City (Monument), by Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants managing director, Patrick Dempsey and the minister for employment Esther McVey.

From the 8,000 jobs being created, which equates to over four jobs a day, Premier Inn has targeted 50 per cent of them to long term unemployed people aged 16-24.

Premier Inn has also pledged an additional 2,000 Apprenticeships and 4,500 work placements for young people in the UK by 2018.

Within the M25 Premier Inn is targeting to have 20,000 rooms by 2018 and will be creating around 2,500 new jobs over the next five years.

Premier Inn has already created 1,100 jobs in the past year and the new 184 bedroom Premier Inn at Monument has provided 20 new jobs, all of which have gone to the long term unemployed.

In the past three years, Premier Inn and Whitbread’s restaurants have helped team members achieve over 6,500 qualifications through its Apprenticeships.

A total of 415 apprenticeships were successfully completed in Whitbread in 2012, a number which is set to increase considerably under the new programme.

Dempsey said: “We’re committed to doing what we can to offer opportunities to unemployed people to get their first job or to get back into work.

“We have a target of recruiting half of our new team members from the long-term unemployed, and we offer a robust and structured qualification pathway.”