ONE of the UK’s top business leaders is visiting Worcestershire to advise local firms on how they can find and hang on to quality staff.

Carmen Watson, who is chair and managing director of Pertemps, will be the keynote speaker at the Big Talent Breakfast on the Three Counties Showground, Malvern on Tuesday, June 25.

Named as the Institute of Directors’ Director of the Year in 2018, Ms Watson leads a £400m turnover company which specialises in identifying and developing talent.

She will be involved in a cross-sector panel which includes Roman Cooper, executive director of security and fire system family business Allcooper, and Matthew Burgess, principal and chief executive of Gloucestershire College.

The event, organised by regional law firm Harrison Clark Rickerbys in partnership with Allcooper, property and asset consultancy PACT and the Three Counties Showground, will run from 8am to 10am, with breakfast, the keynote session, a panel discussion and Q and A, as well as a chance to network with organisation leaders.

Jenny Okafor-Jones, head of HCR’s employment team, said: "What is the major asset of any employer? Not their buildings, their machinery, their software or even their bank balance, it’s their people.

"Recruiting and retaining talented people is key to the success of any organisation; this event will capture some expert views on how to do this and what works in the real world; it promises to be really valuable."