InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is one of a number of private sector companies that has pledged to create new UK jobs in 2011 and beyond.

The hotel operator confirmed that it will make 1,000 jobs available this year and a further 3,000 opportunities in the next 'three-to-four years'.

IHG was one among several major employers to meet with Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street over how the private sector can be helped to create new UK jobs. McDonalds, John Lewis and construction firm Balfour Beatty also made similar pledges to create new employment opportunities.

Richard Solomons, the group's chief financial officer, said: "Hotels offer a quick and flexible way to get people back into work. These are jobs with real prospects for progression "Unemployment levels are the highest in the kinds of jobs needed in the hotel industry from bar staff through catering assistants to hotel porters."

The British Hospitality Association (BHA) has welcomed the announcement but said the government needed to help the industry achieve its aims. BHA chief executive Ufi Ibrahim said: "We need a positive partnership with government that recognises that policy and regulations can make or break this objective."