Palestine Sports for Life (PS4L), one of the Palestinian partners of the Skills4Sports project,  brought together 32 representatives from governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, universities and the private sector for the purpose of discussing the challenge of increasing the employment opportunities for NEETs (persons Not in Employment, Education or Training). In these discussions, which were held in Ramallah on March 29, 2022, a special focus was placed on the dire situation that Palestinian youth is facing in terms of finding employment.

PS4L is a member of Skills4Sports, a partnership of eight organisations from six Mediterranean countries funded by the European Union, that aims to promote the development of skills relevant to the sports sector that will help NEETs find employment.  In this capacity, PS4L presented the Skills4Sports project, and invited thoughts, comments and suggestions from the attendees on how to reach this goal. The formation of a Strategic Alliance in Palestine that brought together public and private sector bodies, universities and NGOs  is the concrete outcome of this initiative, which promises to grapple with the challenge of regulating employment requirements, addressing predominant issues in the sports sector, and, ultimately, increasing job opportunities for NEETs.

PS4L emphasized the challenges faced by Palestinian sport graduates who find themselves in a very competitive job market, which offers them very few opportunities. A lively discussion ensued regarding possible solutions for integrating university graduates in the labour market and for promoting the development of skills for NEETs. Each sector of the sports industry contributed to the discussion.

High-profile attendees included Dr. Muhammad Al-Araj, the General Manager from ‎the Ministry of Labor and Employment in Palestine, who stated that the event had a “positive impact in identifying and confronting the ‎challenges faced by youth in the sports sector labor market by ‎developing practical solutions as well as recognizing partner institutions.”

Mr. Kamal Shamshoum, who has experience in the sports sector for over 30 years, highlighted “the great significance in seeing attendees interested in matters related to NEETs' employment, skill competencies in sports, and pin-pointing the ‎causes of unemployment in order to effectively begin facing these challenges.”

Ms. Sanaa Fatawi, a member ‎of the Women’s Committee of the Arab Universities Union stated: “This meeting was highly ‎needed. It was an event that shed light on the large problems the Palestinian sports community ‎suffers from, this includes many professionals suffering from unemployment such as coaches, teachers, and specialists in ‎training. This meeting highlighted just how important it is to have a marketing background while working in the Palestinian labor market and the importance of raising our voices regarding the challenges that we face in the sport sector.”

At the end of the event, a Strategic Alliance through a memorandum of agreement was signed by the stakeholders who attended the event, capping a day where multiple recommendations and solutions ‎were put forward by all institutions, while also showing a unified interest in developing the Palestinian sport ‎sector and enhancing employment opportunities for NEETs.