The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has unveiled plans to create 7,000 new apprenticeship positions in the catering industry in the capital.

Johnson, who briefly got behind the stove and cooked breakfast for guests at Premier Inn in Leicester Square, is hoping to create 250,000 apprenticeships in London by 2016.

Johnson was at the hotel to announce the news that the British Hospitality Association has pledged to create 7,000 new apprenticeships in the city by the end of 2016.

"We try to give serious incentives [to help companies hire apprentices]," Johnson told IBTimes UK.

"I think the best incentive is the reduction in [a company's] labour costs, the enthusiasm, and the commitment you will get from those apprentices.

"In the end they will help [a business] cut its bottom line and they will be fantastic, and be committed member of [a firm's] workforce."

The Mayor of London, when asked about visa restrictions, also expressed that he was thankful of the Home Office's efforts on enabling more Chinese tourists to travel to the capital.

"[But] we can't let our foot off the throttle yet, it must be easy for Chinese tourists to come to London and spend their money," Johnson stressed.

The former journalist turned politician also told IBTimes UK that he would have wanted to be a carpenter and confessed that he sometimes practices the trade in his spare time.

The announcement comes at the start of this year's National Apprenticeship Week, which runs from the 3rd to 7th of March 2014.

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