EU support for employment and to provide food aid to people in need

The Commission has allocated more than 700 million euros in support to five operational programs (OPs) of the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) in Spain and Luxembourg to contribute to the response to the crisis in the context of REACT-EU.

The ESF program for Madrid will be complemented by €534 million to support education by funding the training of additional staff and teachers. The new funds will help young people acquire better skills and find employment, and guide people in vulnerable situations to employment.

Some €76 million euros to the ESF OP Extremadura will support the self-employed in maintaining and creating new jobs. The funds also aim to stimulate the hiring of permanent staff or to convert temporary contracts into permanent ones. In addition, the funding will support vocational education and training programs.

The ESF OP for Galicia will receive €80 million in addition in 2021 to support self-employed workers and micro-enterprises affected by the crisis. It will also help small businesses hire ‘relief workers’ to ease the transition from retiring people to new workers. The funds will also be invested to boost women’s employment and help particularly vulnerable people access social services, education and employment. The funds will allow the Galician employment service to improve its service capacity through a new tool, which uses big data and artificial intelligence to anticipate skills needs and, for example, plan training offers.

The ESF OP for Melilla will receive €11 million euros to support employment and self-employment and help the unemployed acquire better skills.

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