Sharif Hasan, who graduated in 2020, has gone through multiple interviews, only to be questioned if he specialized in any skill sets other than his educational credentials. Failing to name any, he has been unable to secure a respectable job. A footwear manufacturer, on the other hand, has been hunting for a footwear merchandizer. They spent a lot of money on newspaper and employment portal job circulars. Despite the large number of applicants, none of them possessed the necessary qualifications.

This has been the story of thousands of employees and employers in the country having a mismatch in the skills possessed and the actual demand in the market. Sharif, disheartened, realized that his academic knowledge would not be enough to secure him a job. He started looking for options to improve his knowledge and skills. He came across the NISE platform online and went through its contents and success stories. He quickly enrolled himself in a skills occupation program run by a Department on Footwear Merchandizing and received a certificate upon successful completion of the course. At the same time, the footwear manufacturing company looking for a footwear merchandiser, who has now enrolled in NISE as an employer looking for candidates, was quickly able to filter and came across Sharif. Following an interview, Sharif landed the job.