Training boss moves from Brazil to Aberdeen for new UK role

A training firm specialising in the energy sector has recruited its new managing director from Brazil.

Leonardo Machado has moved to Aberdeen after heading up the company's operations in Brazil for the past six years. Picture: contributed.

Leonardo Machado has joined Maersk Training UK in Aberdeen after heading up the firm’s Brazilian operations for the past six years.

Mr Machado will oversee an expansion of the firm’s UK business, which is aimed at making it the preferred training partner across the oil and gas and renewables sectors.

The company has recently invested £720,000 to upgrade its facilities and expand its range of courses in Aberdeen.

Mr Machado said: “Moving to the UK to take up this role seemed like a natural step in my career. I was very attracted to the new challenge and the opportunities available in the UK.

“Compared to Brazil, the North Sea is a much more mature marketplace where there is a greater desire for a higher calibre of training. My goal is to be seen not as a training provider, but as a partner as companies develop and adapt their safety needs.”

He also said the energy sector’s focus on the transition to net zero offers significant opportunities.

“The energy transition will see an emergence of new technologies that will require new competencies. We are already providing a range of safety procedures for wind, with more than 50 per cent of the business related to renewable power sources.”

Mr Machado added that the impact of Covid-19 has also “sped up the digital agenda” on training and prompted the firm to introduce e-learning courses as well as blended learning services alongside accredited training bodies.

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