European Social Fund (ESF)

The European Social Fund (ESF) is Europe's main instrument for promoting employment and social inclusion in Europe. It complements the national labour market and social policy in Germany. The funds will be targeted to improve equal opportunities for women and men on the labour market and to integrate disadvantaged social groups into the labour market.

The new ESF federal programmes for the funding period 2014 to 2020 pursue the following objectives:

• Promoting sustainable and quality employment and supporting labour mobility
• Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty and all forms of discrimination
• Investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning

The ESF promotes and supports better education, training and skills to acquire skills on the labour market

On the one hand, the focus is on young people at the transition from school to work. The aim is to integrate low-performing young people into vocational training and to strengthen in-company vocational training. On the other hand, employee training and lifelong learning strategies are central concerns of the ESF.

There is a great need for information on the funding opportunities for continuing vocational training and the possible financing of initial or secondary training by the ESF.

The corresponding ESF programmes are:

• Education Award (BMBF), individual funding possible
• Jobstarter plus (BMBF)
• Possible ESF programmes of the federal states

An application for funding cannot be submitted by individuals. In the various programmes, it is carried out by project promoters and the responsible institutions. It is also possible to contact an ESF project on site. The ESF programme "Education Premium" is one of the few that directly supports individuals.