Kathryn Neilson

Director – Merchant Navy Training Board
UK Chamber of Shipping

Kathryn started her career as a teacher and spent much of the early part of her career working within the training and learning development sector. When the opportunity arose in 2011 to branch off into Maritime Training, she jumped at the chance. For seven years, she worked for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line as their Safety and Compliance Officer responsible for the UK fleet’s certification and compliance and for overseeing their UK and International Cadet Training Programmes. She took over the responsibilities of MNTB Director in August 2017. The MNTB is hosted by the UK Chamber of Shipping and is a unique tripartite organisation bringing together the views of employers, educationalists, and trade unions within the Maritime industry and is responsible for setting the standards and framework for seafarer training and education in the UK. As the Director, she is responsible for the overall operation of the MNTB, overseeing and facilitating its technical work, new entrant training programmes, careers promotion strategy and managing the charitable work of the Maritime Educational Foundation. Kathryn is also a Maritime Skills Commissioner and Director of the Maritime Educational Foundation Charity.