Neil joined NSAR in 2015 from the utility sector, where he was CEO of the Energy & Utility Skills Group. Before that he was CEO at the British Insitute of Innkeeping Prior to these sectoral CEO roles, he held senior positions in government departments for education and business, where he had responsibilities in skills, employability, English and migration, regional economic development, and European Structural Funds. Neil has also worked with Babcock, City & Guilds, and the Scottish Qualifications Authority. He started working life as a trainee quantity surveyor for GA Group, before studying and tutoring at Edinburgh University, specialising in socioeconomic theory.