A programme to train hotel staff will be launched at the start of next year.Zane DeSilva, the tourism minister, said that the Learn to Earn pilot programme would begin in January.He added that new hospitality staff would be in high demand after the opening of three hotels next year.He said: “The hotels opening will bring about a significant increase in demand for workers skilled in all areas of housekeeping and food and beverage services.“The Learn to Earn programme is among the many initiatives that will provide training for Bermudians to meet this demand.”Mr DeSilva was speaking as he announced the move at Brew coffee shop in Hamilton.The Learn to Earn programme will put 12 trainees through a skills development course and an eight-week paid internship.Each trainee will also go through a two-week internship at restaurant operators Harbourside Holdings, Island Restaurant Group, Take Five and Yellow Fin.A second group will start the programme four weeks after the launch of the pilot.Lovitta Foggo, the Minister of Labour, Community Affairs and Sport, said: “We take every opportunity that we can to equip our young Bermudians with the skills that will make them marketable in the world of work.“Bermuda works best when her people are working and we are going to do what we need to do to ensure that the necessary training is put in place.”The programme was launched with the Department of Workforce Development, Bermuda College, the Bermuda Tourism Authority and private restaurant groups.It was also supported with funding from the Tomasz Tabor Memorial Fund, named after a well-known chef at Island Restaurant Group who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2014.Karl Massam, the general manager of Yellow Fin, said: “We believe this project has the potential to educate, train and place many Bermudians in the hospitality sector and set them up for success.“It will not only benefit our restaurants and hotels, but also our tourism product overall, and, by extension, our whole community.“I know Tomasz would be very proud.”Information sessions on the programme will be held on December 9 at 10am and 3pm at the Department of Workforce Development, Parliament Street, Hamilton.Anyone interested in joining the programme should complete the employment registration at surveymonkey.com/r/HBHBQTQ.For more information, contact the Department of Workforce Development at 297-7714 or 297-7716.