Why is it relevant to tourism?
The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), launched in 2007, helps people find new jobs through further education or training or helps them start their own business. Originally created to support workers who lost their jobs because of large-scale restructuring triggered by systemic globalisation changes, its scope was broadened over the years.
The EGF now helps workers let go during larger scale restructuring events, no matter the cause. At the request of the EU country concerned, the EGF co-finances job search support, career advice, further training, retraining, coaching and entrepreneurship, and to a certain extent, allowances that enable participants to take part in the measures.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put tourism-dependent businesses across the EU in an unprecedented situation. The EGF can help workers and self-employed people in European countries who lost their job.
Overview of tourism-related components
The EGF has no tourism specific component. However, it is open to various sectors and can support workers dismissed by tourism businesses or self-employed individuals (previously) active in the tourism industry. It does so through supporting measures that help train displaced workers, upgrade their skills, or help them start businesses.
Moreover, it can support measures in tourism, such as vocational training courses for displaced workers according to their needs, apprenticeships to learn new professional skills and practical knowledge directly on-the-job, and business start-up subsidies with follow-up support.
Details of the programme
The special EU instrument, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF), expresses Union solidarity with displaced workers and self-employed individuals whose activity has ceased, in addition to helping them find new jobs.
The EGF helps create a more dynamic and competitive European economy by improving the skills and employability of displaced workers to help them find sustainable work.
It helps low-skilled and disadvantaged jobseekers deal with new challenges in the labour market. As a general rule, authorities can activate the EGF either when a single company (including its suppliers and downstream producers) lays off over 200 workers or when SMEs in various sectors in the same region or a particular sector in one or more neighbouring regions lay off workers.
The EGF has an annual budget of €210 million for 2021-2027. It can fund from 60% to 85% of the cost of projects designed to help workers made redundant find another job or set up their own businesses. National or regional authorities implement and manage EGF cases. Each case runs for two years.
Additional information and how to apply
- European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) (europa.eu)
- How to apply (europa.eu)
Example(s) of supported projects
Project: EGF/2014/003 ES Aragon
Description: The crisis severely impacted employment in Aragón. The unemployment rate in the region has increased rapidly. The food and beverage service sector was traditionally considered a safety net at times of scarce employment, as jobs in the food and beverage sector were easy to find, mainly since these jobs have demanding work schedules that are difficult to reconcile with family life. Yet, even the food and beverage service sector suffered because of the financial and economic crisis, resulting in redundancies that harmed the regional economy. Given the relevance of tourism-related food and beverage activities in Spain, the EGF’s impact on the beneficiaries was considered sustainable since staff could probably be re-hired to a certain degree.
EU contribution: €960,000
Level of EU funding: 60% of total budgetLink: Decision on mobilisation of the EGF for Aragón food and beverage
Project: EGF/2014/018 EL Attica Broadcasting
Description: Intensive counselling helped several people pivot to fields outside of journalism and broadcasting. Since this sector is in serious decline in the Attica region, many people were willing to change careers and participate in marketing, tourism activities, cooking, cosmetics, or other training.
One of the measures for the tourism sector covered by this fund was ‘training, retraining and vocational training’. It consists of vocational training courses for workers that fit their needs, identified during occupational consultancy, in areas and sectors with development prospects corresponding to labour market needs. The two types of training are offered either as continuous vocational programmes or specialised training or educational programmes.
EU contribution: €5,046,000
Level of EU funding: 60% of total budget
Link: Decision on mobilisation of the EGF for Attica Broadcasting
Project: EGF/2020/002 EE/Estonia Tourism
Description: The mass redundancies in the Estonian tourism industry affect all of industry and the national economy. Tourism contributes to national economic growth and competitiveness and is an important source of employment. As the redundancies happened within the same timeframe and involved workers with similar backgrounds in highly intertwined sectors that all fall under tourism, addressing them with one EGF application reduces administrative burden and leverages cooperation.
EU contribution: €4,474,480
Level of EU funding: 60% of total budgetLink: Coronavirus: €4.5 million proposed to support 5000+ dismissed tourism workers or self-employed in Estonia and Decision on mobilisation of the EGF for Estonia Tourism