The Italian restaurant chain, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, plans to open 20 new restaurants a year in the UK over the next five years, potentially taking its estate to 548.
Alongside its recruitment drive for staff at all levels, Pizza Express will also be boosting its 12-month apprenticeship programme. Since its launch in 2013, the company has recruited 377 people as apprentices in four areas - Kitchen Services, Food & Beverage, Supervisor and Hospitality Supervision and Leadership.
At a visit to Pizza Express in Hove earlier today Chancellor George Osborne welcomed the news and said it was part of the Conservatives' plan to deliver three million more apprenticeships by the end of the next Parliament.
“The expansion of a great British brand like Pizza Express means thousands of new jobs and hundreds of new apprenticeships up and down the country.
“This is our long term economic plan in action - supporting businesses that give young people a chance to get on."
Pizza Express chief executive Richard Hodgson said: “PizzaExpress has been at the forefront of the restaurant industry for 50 years and as such we have a responsibility to invest in the future of the sector. This means investing in people, creating new opportunities and giving our teams a reason to feel good about what they do, and the valuable contribution they make.”