Competencies of retired officers of the Polish armed forces in the civil labor market

Abstract

Purpose: The publication addresses the competence potential of retired Polish Armed Forces officers on the civil labor market. Due to their specific job, which is service to the Homeland, soldiers acquire many unique competencies that they could or use during their retirement employment. A professional soldier employed before 2013 can retire after 15 years of service. According to the latest research, more than 8,000 soldiers have left the Armed Forces over the past two years. That shows how many educated people could still function in the labor market. Failure to use this potential is a waste of a valuable resource, highly useful in the civil labor market. The results of the conducted research concern the situation and competencies in work in retirement according to the opinion of the retired officers of the Armed Forces and employers/superiors employing retired officers. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study uses the method of analysis and criticism of the literature. This made it possible to complete a bibliography related, inter alia, to competences. Additionally, a heuristic method was used to interpret the cited definitions. Another method used in the work was the comparative method. The main research tool was questionnaires developed by the co-author, addressed to retired officers and employers/ superiors of retired officers. Findings: The results of this part of the research indicate that retired officers are assessed positively by employers/superiors, and the most important factors in retirement employment are knowledge, skills, personality traits and experience.