With the European Social Fund+ (ESF+), it is possible to get to work, train or retrain via projects free of charge and close to home — even in difficult circumstances. At the conference 'Start! The European Social Fund Plus for Germany', led by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the new ESF+ funding period 2021-2027 at federal level has been launched. The conference was opened with the participation of EU Social Commissioner Nicolas Schmit.
Schmit said at the launch of the ESF+ federal programme: 'The European Social Fund Plus contributes significantly to helping people find new and better jobs and to establish a reliable safety net for the most vulnerable in society. In this way, the ESF Plus will play a key role in the implementation of common European objectives in the areas of employment, lifelong learning and poverty reduction.'
Federal Minister Heil added, ‘The European Social Fund Plus stands for social cohesion and social strength within Europe. We are facing enormous socio-economic challenges that are fundamentally changing the way people in the EU live and work. At federal level, the ESF Plus will therefore invest in individuals and make Europe's social thinking tangible. In Germany, all relevant actors are involved in this in a spirit of partnership: the federal states, social partners and civil society organisations.’
Billions of euros create individual opportunities for the professional future
In Germany, the Federal Government and the Länder will receive a total of around EUR 6.56 billion from the ESF+ by 2027. From this amount, around EUR 2.22 billion will be invested in the ESF Plus federal programme and around EUR 4.34 billion in the ESF+ activities of federal states. The funds are co-financed at the federal and state level.
The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is the main instrument of the European Union to promote employment in Europe. ESF+ funded programmes and projects open up individual new opportunities for people to shape their professional future. From 2014 to 2020, around 2.7 million people benefited from different ESF+ actions. Over 200,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were supported and advised during this period.
28 funding programs with different impact directions
The 28 federal funding programmes will work to improve the training and labour market opportunities of young people and people with migration history, develop vocational training opportunities for workers, support disadvantaged families, support the most disadvantaged people, support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in securing skilled workers and promote founders. The ESF+ is also an important financial instrument for linking social Europe with Europe’s Green Deal and exploiting the great potential for creating good jobs through transformation.
The ESF+ Federal Programme was approved by the European Commission on 5 May 2022 as the first ESF+ programme in the European Union. Therefore, the implementation of the federal programme has already begun and the bridge between the old and the new funding period has been successfully bridged.
