CC BY
27
From the attached to the market profession
(military reskill programme in military forces between 1990 - 2000) Roman Tomaszewski
Attached groups of society or professions which demanded flexible working hours were becoming more and more popular as the society has been developing and modernising. It was visible in uniform services such as army. In most of the countries the lack of possibility of having an impact on certain regulations (e.g. Lack of unions or no influence on pay-scales) made them a lifelong professions. The example of such profession is a soldier. It was created in a long term changes process which combined the values from the past with the contemporary skills such as engineering or administration. The traditional factor of this job was more valuable in soldier's personalities due to its traditional ethos.1 The military professionalism could not exist without it.
The second important part of the soldier's job, mainly the officer's one, in the 20th century was the open-minded attitude towards the technological progress. This is why it was important to have a technical degree (engineer.) On one hand they were treated as a modern technological products but on the other, as a product of contemporary knighthood. 2
The military academies in the 20th century were mass producing the new royalty - officers without taking into account country's economy. Its substitute was to provide available military staff (office staff in uniforms.) As in the past days, they were meant to be the brave fighters ready to protect the country and its sovereignty. In a certain extent that is what is expected now although countries belong to a variety of united international organisations.
In the first half of the 20th century the process of moving the military staff to the civil professions was not a problem. It was due to the less restricted demands of civil work area and the respect and the quality military education has had. During the times of the 2nd Polish Republic an officer moving to the civil work area was offered an admin job in the local government or town hall offices. Some of this professions were strictly dedicated to the military people. However the non - commissioned officers
1M. Adamkiewicz, Z dziejow etosu wojska (From the times of military ethos), Warszawa 1997, p.7.
2M. Ossowska, Ethos rycerski i jego odmiany (The knight's ethos and its different types), Warszawa 1986, p. 175 - 176.
223
were often offered jobs in a variety of police formations (e.g. Border control, emigration etc.) Before the development of police schools the Polish Army was a key employment factor for these organisations. 1 The regulations for professional military service changed three times in pre-war Poland: in 1922, 1934, 1937. They did not include any reskill guarantees but insisted that some of the officers, who did not get promoted, should leave the service at the age of 36. They often were directed to administration or rather less often to the police. As civil employees, they were valued and their qualifications were valuable at their new positions. 2 There were no actual social conflicts among other potential candidates for the administration vacancies.
The acquisition of higher rank military people went rather relatively smoothly. It involved 6000 higher rank officers and generals between 1926 and 1934. 3 Some of them became members of ministry or supervisory board of state and private companies.4 Although there was no reskill programme in pre- war Poland, the soldiers did not struggle with finding employment.
During the communist times there were still no reskill laws in Polish Army. The length of service was not limited by any amount of time and those that decided to leave were mostly entitled to a full or part military pension after 15 years of service.5 It was reported that too many office jobs were created in Civil Defence. They were mostly occupied by retired military men. Both factors - the long term of service and the possibility of finding a job once retired had an influence on the structure of Polish military education between 1948 - 1990. The military authorities deliberately kept their schools away from the standard educational frames. As a result of that it was difficult to look for correlation in them. Until 1990 the only qualifications accepted by other educational bodies were those gained at Military Technical University and Military Medical University.
The whole situation changed in 1990. Due to the economical problems there was a noticeable reduction in the army. Initially the soldiers
1 S. Kosdrowski, Wyszkolenie policyjne w II Rzeczpospolitej (Police education in 2nd Polish Republic), Krakow 2006. For the candidates from the army police were offering adaptation courses. Due to the rule of keeping the rang such courses were relatively long.
2 F. Kusiak, Zycie codzienne oficerow Drugiej Rzeczpospolitej (Officers’ everyday life in the Second Republic of Poland), Warszawa 1992, p. 80-81.
3 Ibidem, p. 76.
4 P. Stawecki, Nastqpcy Komendanta . Wojskowa polityka wewnqtrzna Drugiej Rzeczpospolitej w latach 1935-1939 (The successor of the chief. The inner military politics in Second Republic of Poland between 1935-1939), Warszawa 1969, p. 253 - 263.
5 The exception were 1954-1958 when thousands of officers had to approach a common civil market. Their qualifications were rather limited as they mostly had primary qualifications or 1-2 years of secondary education. Most of them took up menial jobs.
224
could leave the service without any difficulties which existed until 1990. Then, from 1995, redundancy started to be visible. The reskill programme seemed to be essential. Its original thought was to place the soldiers in the admin parts of the Ministry of Defence. Through the time and experience as well as cooperation with Job Centres, authorities started to fulfil the notion of reskilling. Although there was a strong link with Bundeswehr Poland could not adapt anything from their organisation. They developed the “prevention reskill” programme where alongside with military education soldiers take up civil studies at some Bundeswehr universities (in Munich or Hamburg.) Such system turned out to be successful in Western Germany. In Poland another rule could have been applied, based on Military Technical University. After the reduction of schools for officers 60-70% of them were graduating from MTU. All of them have had technical degrees precious not only at military field but also at the civil one. There were cases where the graduates were employed directly by the private companies which covered the university fees.
For those soldiers working a longer period of time a reskill programme guaranteed the civil jobs at the government bodies. The minister of employment and social politics was a key person involved in this decision which unfortunately became just an unrealistic “dead law.”1 The public negative attitude to Polish Army, due to the martial law, enhanced the bad feelings towards them on the employment market. It was opposite to pre-war times were former soldiers were prioritised during the employment process. The highest level of redundancies in the army took place during the years of crisis (2002-2003.)2 The effectiveness of the reskill programme was visible after 2004. For a certain amount of time the former soldiers had a limited possibility in finding employment which was actually against the idea of the programme and was making a lively and active person a static one. The main disadvantage was that such people were not pre - informed of a possibility of being made redundant.
In 2005-2010 the structures of social services of the Ministry of Defence adapted the civilian solutions for the problem with the reskilling. At that time the system consisted of: career advice and recruitment agency. Theoretically it is possible for one person to be entitled to a financial support of 11 000 PLN (approx. 2 500 euro). The system has been rebuilt, starting from the Department of Social Issues in MoD, through the military agencies of career elicitation (5 places) to the specially trained staff in each garrison. Each year about 10 000 - 18 000 of soldiers use the reskill
1J. Zalewski, Przemiany ustrojowo - strukturalne w Sifach Zbrojnych Drugiej Rzeczpospolitej(Political and structural chan ges in Polish Military Forces during the Second Republic of Poland),Warszawa 2001, p. 278.
2Ibidem, p. 280. 20 000 of Polish soldiers were made redundant then.
225
programme. According to the latest information such numbers may increase as parts of privates may also take the opportunity of it in the next 2-5 years.
A good form of a long term forecast is a set of trainings which make soldiers aware that their military performance may not be relatively long but their ability to work outside the army is. What is worrying is the fact that there is a number of post graduate courses, schools and programmes which tend to renew the profession. 1
Polish military education and the cooperation with the civilian educational institutions seems to be underestimated within the reskill programme. Similarly to West Germany it may allow soldiers to benefit even during the time of their service. It may also allow the army men plan their own career. Unfortunately, the stereotype which describes a "typical” military education has not been fought over yet. I believe that it is a case in most post - soviet countries.2
I intentionally intended to present the changes in professional military service broader than the title of this document suggests. I personally think that the 80-year-old perspective can prove how that it may lead to a common market job. Lifelong learning has been popularised in the armies across the world but only for the benefit of forces. It was deepen even more through the conservative military education. A soldier need to pay twice for the "pride and imprisonment” of their duty: at the moment of putting the uniform on and when they take it off. During this period of time they have to fit well into the life and the mission of their job.3
The employment market makes them to take up another challenge, to change their lives totally. The moral duty of a human being is to remain active so they have to become members of a common job market. But it is rather hard to ignore prof. John Keegan's opinion - "The military men are different from diplomats and politicians as much as the ancient world from the modern one. They belong to a different world which exists at the moment but they create a separate enclave.”4 There is a hidden praise of their conservatism in it which may balance the omnipotence of the market.
1 The performace of former soldiers should not be based on the renew companies.
2 J. Babula, Wojsko Polskie 1945-1989. Proba analizy operacyjnej (Polish Army in 1945-1989. The attempt to the operational analysis), Warszawa 1998, p. 207; T. Jakovuk, Nowa mentalnosc a edukacja (na przykfadzie Wojsk Obrony Pogranicza Republiki Biaforuskiej),- New mentality and education (on the basis of the Border Control Forces in Bielarus), Kompetencje wyrozniajqce dowodcq i nauczyciela (Competences which distinguish the commander and the teacher), ed. Z. Dziemiaszko and A. Zduniak, Poznan -Warszawa 2002, p. 77-79.
3 A. de Vigny, O niewoli i wielkosci sluzby wojskowej (About the status and imprisonment of military duties), Ossolineum 1922, p. 77-79.
4J. Keegan, Historia wojen (the history of wars), Warszawa 1998, p. 12.
226
