Nurul Islam

Serving on the Advisory Board of SSD Academy, this distinguished TVET and skills development strategist brings 16 years of multifaceted experience across national skills projects, curriculum development, and youth employment programming. Having led key initiatives under ADB-financed programs (SICIP, SEIP), UNICEF, UCEP Bangladesh, and BRAC, the Advisory Board provides vital strategic guidance on competency-based training frameworks, second-chance education, employer engagement, and large-scale job placement systems.

A senior development and TVET specialist with over 16 years of comprehensive experience, including more than a decade driving large-scale skills development, youth employment, and livelihood initiatives in Bangladesh. The advisor brings exceptional expertise in curriculum design, competency-based learning material (CBLM) development, training monitoring, and institutional social enterprise models.

Throughout a distinguished career spanning major donor-funded and national programs—including ADB-financed SICIP and SEIP projects, UNICEF Bangladesh, BRAC Skills Development Programme, and UCEP Bangladesh—they have supported skills ecosystems serving tens of thousands of trainees annually. In an advisory capacity, they guide SSD Academy's competency frameworks, occupational standards, practical lab setups, and industry linkage pipelines to ensure world-class training quality and sustainable graduate placement.

Key Strategic Focus Areas

• Competency-Based Curriculum & Learning Materials: Advising on the design, review, and standardization of CBLMs, assessment packages, trainer guides, and session plans aligned with NSDA and national qualification frameworks.
• Job Placement & Employer Engagement: Providing high-level strategy for database management, corporate employer networks, apprenticeships, and post-training employment pipelines.
• Vocational Lab Design & Technical Setup: Offering technical guidance on developing standard training workshops, commercial lab installations, and occupational safety systems.
• Inclusive & Second-Chance Education: Championing training models that integrate underprivileged youth, women, and marginalized groups into wage employment and self-reliance pathways.

Distinguished Career Experience

• Coordinator, Job Placement & Database – Skills for Industry Competitiveness and Innovation Program (SICIP), ADB-financed (March 2025 – Present)
• Pre-vocational Curriculum Consultant – UNICEF Bangladesh, SKILFO Project (April 2024 – March 2025)
• Assistant Coordinator, Training Monitoring & Assessment – SEIP Tourism & Hospitality Industry Skills Council Project (February 2022 – March 2024)
• Consultant – Team Associates (September 2021 – January 2022)
• Deputy Manager, Hospitality & Tourism Unit / Acting Manager, Social Enterprise Development – UCEP Bangladesh (April 2019 – August 2021)
• Center in Charge / Senior Instructor – BRAC Skills Development Programme (August 2016 – March 2019)
• Food & Beverage Production Trainee / Associate – Le Méridien Dhaka (August 2015 – January 2016)
• Executive, Marketing & Sales – Global Business Associates Pvt. Ltd., RAK Ceramics (December 2010 – May 2015)

Key Consultancy & Technical Contributions

• Developed and edited competency-based learning materials and assessment tools for SEIP, KOICA-BEST, and NSDA assignments.
• Delivered end-to-end UNICEF-SKILFO technical packages, including course structures, competency standards, logbooks, session plans, and Training of Trainers (ToT) facilitation.
• Completed industrial bakery and cooking lab setup consultations for the BRAC Skills Development Programme and the BRAC Rohingya Project in Bhasan Char.

Core Advisory Competencies

• TVET System Strengthening & CBT&A Frameworks
• Pre-vocational & Vocational Curriculum Architecture
• Job Placement System Development & Employer Networking
• Training Monitoring, Quality Assessment & Program Governance