Abstract:

Career in the military is not a lifetime career. Generally a military retirement marks the end to approximately 15 - 20 year career of service to the nation. Most military members want to re-enter the workforce soon after their retirement, however often experience difficulties. Studies and observations of career experts in Czech Republic show that employability of soldiers in civilian labour market tends to be low. The aim of the paper was to reveal what factors influence the employability of soldiers of Czech Armed Forces and what kind of training and career development they would have welcomed while in the army. The method of structured questionnaire was used. Research sample consisted of 313 former solders of the Czech Armed Forces. The data collection took place from 12 November 2017 until 14 January 2018. Data were analysed using the methods of descriptive statistic, hypotheses were tested by chi-square test and student’s t-test. The results show the degree of dependence of work success in civilian sector on age, rank, duration of military service, dismissal conditions, help of superiors and own approach towards preparation for a second career. They also bring opinions, ideas and demands of soldiers related to the lifelong learning during military service in order to improve the current state of employability of former soldiers in the Czech Republic. Concrete suggestions and recommendations addressed to the organizational units of the Ministry of Defence are discussed.

Keywords:

Soldiers, Czech Armed Forces, military, learning, career, development, employability.