European Social Fund (ESF)

Objectives

• Promoting employment and labour mobility;
• Investing in education, skills and lifelong learning;
• Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty;
• Enhancing institutional capacity and an efficient public administration;
• Supporting the shift towards low-carbon, climate resilient and resource efficient economy;
• Enhancing the use of information and communication technologies, strengthening research;
• Technological development and innovation and enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.

N/A

The strategy and the budget of the fund is negotiated and decided between the EU Member States, the European Parliament and the Commission. On this basis, seven-year Operational Programmes are planned by Member States together with the European Commission. These Operational Programmes are then implemented at a national level by a managing authority. Calls for proposals and tenders are published normally at a national language.

ESF may support actions and policies falling within its scope through financial instruments, such as risk-sharing schemes, equity and debt, guarantee funds, holding funds, and loan funds.

The ESF supports measures such as:

• lifelong learning and training of workers;
• work organisation;
• support for employees in the context of restructuring;
• employment services
• integration of disadvantaged people in the labour market
• reforms in education and training systems;
• networking of social partners and NGOs
• training in public administrations and services

To learn more about ESF priorities search the priorities database.

Supported activities

Promoting employment and supporting labour mobility:

• Access to employment for job-seekers and inactive people, including local employment initiatives and support for labour mobility;
• Sustainable integration of young people not in employment, education or training into the labour market;
• Self-employment, entrepreneurship and business creation;
• Equality between men and women and reconciliation between work and private life;
• Adaptation of workers, enterprises and entrepreneurs to change;
• Active and healthy ageing;
• Modernisation and strengthening of labour market institutions, including actions to enhance transnational labour mobility;

Investing in education, skills and life-long learning:

• Reducing early school-leaving and promoting equal access to good quality early-childhood, primary and secondary education;
• Improving the quality, efficiency and openness of tertiary and equivalent education with a view to increasing participation and attainment levels;
• Enhancing access to lifelong learning, upgrading the skills and competences of the workforce and increasing the labour market relevance of education and training systems;

Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty:

• Active inclusion;
• Integration of marginalised communities such as the Roma;
• Combating discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;
• Enhancing access to affordable, sustainable and high-quality services, including health care and social services of general interest;
• Promoting the social economy and social enterprises;
• Community-led local development strategies;

Enhancing institutional capacity and efficient public administration:

• Investment in institutional capacity and in the efficiency of public administrations and public services with a view to reforms, better regulation and good governance; This investment priority is only applicable throughout the territory of the Member States which have at least one NUTS level 2 region or in Member States eligible for Cohesion Fund support.
• Capacity building for stakeholders delivering employment, education and social policies and sectoral and territorial pacts to mobilise for reform at national, regional and local level.

Also:

• Supporting the shift towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient, resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable economy, through reform of education and training systems, adaptation of skills and qualifications, up-skilling of the labour force, and the creation of new jobs in sectors related to the environment and energy;
• Enhancing the accessibility, use and quality of information and communication technologies, through the development of digital literacy, investment in einclusion, e-skills and related entrepreneurial skills;
• Strengthening research, technological development and innovation, through the development of post-graduate studies, the training of researchers, networking activities and partnerships between higher education institutions, research and technological centres and enterprises;
• Enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, through promoting the adaptability of enterprises and workers and increased investment in human capital.

Implementation

The strategy and the budget of the fund is negotiated and decided between the EU Member States, the European Parliament and the Commission. On this basis, seven-year Operational Programmes are planned by Member States together with the European Commission. These Operational Programmes are then implemented at a national level by a managing authority. Calls for proposals and tenders are published normally at a national language.

ESF may support actions and policies falling within its scope through financial instruments, such as risk-sharing schemes, equity and debt, guarantee funds, holding funds, and loan funds.

Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013
Link: Regulation

€ minimum 74 billion

There is no particular deadline. Please refer to the project website for more details.

A wide range of organisations, both from the public and private sector (from regional and local authorities, educational and training institutions, non-governmental institutions, trade unions, works councils, industry and professional associations to individual companies) can apply for funding.

Stakeholders form all EU Member States. Commercial businesses, public agencies and non-profit organisations may all apply. It is not possible to apply as an individual; only organisations or companies can submit an application. Read about how to participate here.

Main changes in 2014

From 2014, the role of the ESF will be reinforced:

• A critical mass of human capital investment will be ensured through a minimum guaranteed share of the ESF within the cohesion policy funding in each Member State. Together with the 3 billion € special allocation for the Youth Employment Initiative, this means that more than 74 billion € will be invested in Europe's people over the next 7 years;
• Allocating at least 20% of the Fund to social inclusion will mean that people in difficulties and those from disadvantaged groups will get more support to have the same opportunities as others to integrate into society;
• Promoting equality between women and men and equal opportunities for all without any discrimination will be integrated in all actions and also supported through specific initiatives;
• A greater emphasis is placed on combating youth unemployment. The Youth Employment Initiative will help young people not in employment, education or training in regions experiencing youth unemployment rates above 25%. At least €6 billion will come in support of Member States' efforts to put their Youth guarantee implementation plans in practice;
• Concentrating funding for achieving results: the ESF will focus its interventions on a limited number of priorities in order to ensure a sufficiently high critical mass of funding to make a real impact in addressing Member States' key challenges;
• Greater support will be provided to social innovation, i.e. testing and scaling up innovative solutions to address social, employment and education needs;
• The ESF will be implemented in close cooperation between public authorities, social partners and bodies representing the civil society at national, regional and local levels throughout the whole programme cycle;
• The European Social Fund will be at the forefront of innovative managing rules to simplify implementation of projects. The Commission is helping Member States to simplify ESF implementation in order to focus more on the results and make ESF easier and safer for the beneficiaries.