Former England footballer Les Ferdinand is coming to KPMG’s Birmingham office to speak about barriers to career advancement and the benefits of a programme designed to promote diversity in the boardroom.

Mr Ferdinand will be highlighting the benefits of the ‘On The Board’ Effective Board Member (EBM) programme and explaining how he believes it helped him secure a recent return to his former club Queens Park Rangers.

QPR’s new head of operations, Mr Ferdinand believes completing the programme, combined with his extensive coaching qualifications, are behind his latest success.

He was sponsored to complete the EBM programme by the Professional Footballers Association (PFA).

Karl George, creator of EBM and managing director at the governance forum, said: “This is fantastic news. We have placed board members in a number of sectors but having a breakthrough in football is a real step in the right direction.”

The EBM programmes are designed to equip those people who want to contribute to the leadership of an organisation by becoming board members. They are delivered by facilitators who all have practical experience on boards.

Successful graduates to date have been able to secure appointments as school governors, local councillors and on the boards of local and national charities and housing associations.

For more information about the EBM programmes email admin@effectiveboardmember.co.uk.