The European Union Member States and regions have access to the European Social Fund within a programming period of seven years. The current program runs from 2007-2013.

In order to benefit from ESF assistance, the Member States elaborate operational programs which are implemented by socio-economic actors, such as educational institutions, training providers, SMEs, chambers of commerce and industry, social partners, NGOs, public institutions, local authorities and others.

The general objective of SOPHRD is the development of human capital and increasing competitiveness, by linking education and lifelong learning with the labor market and ensuring increased participation for future participation on a modern, flexible and inclusive labor market for 1,650,000 people.

SOPHRD provides financing for seven fields of activity, also known as the "Priority Axes". Each of these priority axes is split in several sub-domains, also called "Key Areas of Intervention”. The SOPHRD strategy comprises 6 priority axes and a priority axis for technical assistance, as follows:

Priority Axis 1 Education and training in support for growth and development of a knowledge based society

This axis envisages the modernization of education and training systems through development of specific instruments and standards at system level and education and training providers level, creating conditions for development of flexible lifelong learning pathways, development of educational and training offers in accordance with the labour market demands, ensuring the quality for all the educational levels by improving the professional competences of the  teaching staff, trainers and researchers. Innovative actions and doctoral and post-doctoral programmes will be sustained for the support of competitiveness and economic growth, in order to develop a  knowledge based society.

Priority Axis 2 Linking life long learning and labour market

Priority Axis 2 finances activities aiming at facilitating transition from school to active life by developing integrated programmes for career guidance and counselling and by supporting partnerships between schools, universities and enterprises; preventing and correcting early school leaving phenomenon by developing integrated programs for preventing school drop-outs, encouraging school participation and reintegrating early school leavers in education; increasing access and participation in continuous vocational training through diversification of CVT programmes and supporting employees participation to such programmes.

Priority Axis 3 Increasing adaptability of workers and enterprises

Priority Axis 3 aims at promoting entrepreneurial culture as an important factor for increasing economic competitiveness through training actions in order to provide the basic management knowledge for the people willing to start a business, improving managerial skills for small and medium enterprises, qualification and assistance for the employers working in sectors affected by economic restructurings. Also, the SOPHRD will finance actions aiming at increasing adaptability of enterprises, in particular of SMEs, but also the adaptability of workers, regarding the changes appeared as a result of the modern technologies and new organisational solutions on a large scale. The development of partnerships will be sustained and initiatives for the social partners and civil society will be encouraged.

Priority Axis 4 Modernizing the public employment service

The modernization of the National Agency for Employment will be envisaged at national level, in order to improve the quality of public employment service and to diversify the employment services provided, making them more visible and accessible for the beneficiaries –unemployed persons, job seekers, employers.

Actions financed through SOP HRD under this key area of intervention will aim at: ensuring greater transparency of the employment and training opportunities at national and local level in order to facilitate geographical and occupational mobility; a better anticipation of labour market needs, including deficiencies and bottlenecks on the labour market; an appropriate management of labour force migration.

Priority Axis 5: Promoting active employment measures

Priority Axis 5 provides measures to motivate the reintegration of the inactive persons on the labour market, to provide assistance and counselling, to promote the geographical and occupational mobility and to eliminate the economically inactive periods.

The projects to be launched will promote the active measures on the labour market for young unemployed persons and for the long term unemployed persons as well as: training, services for job mediation, professional guidance and counselling including the development of entrepreneurial competences.

In this context, innovative schemes to stimulate young and long term unemployed persons will be promoted and accompanying measures to facilitate the insertion and retention as long as possible on the labour market will be encouraged.

Regarding the rural area population involved in the subsistence agriculture, SOP HRD aims at attracting this category in the non-agricultural sector (tourism, services, constructions, other industry braches) for which integrated programs will be provided to raise awareness on the employment opportunities from other sectors, training, career counselling and guidance, work placement s.o.

Priority Axis 6: Promoting social inclusion

Priority Axis 6 envisages operations aiming at increasing the social inclusion, preventing the exclusion from the labour market and supporting disadvantaged vulnerable groups regarding access to education and on the labour market. SOP HRD will finance projects set on promoting the social economy, as a measure for social inclusion of those who have difficulties in finding a job (roma population, persons with disabilities, young people over 18 years old who leave the state childcare system, ex-offenders s.o.). Also, developing integrated social services and training the staff of social assistance system will be supported. Measures aiming at ensuring equal opportunities between women and men will be promoted and trans-national initiatives in all areas will be encouraged.

Priority Axis 7: Technical Assistance

Priority Axis 7 finances actions for supporting the Managing Authority for the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development and the Intermediate Bodies in the programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation as well as to inform the beneficiaries about the fields which could be financed from ESF.