Say a word about the former battalion commander

When a civilian loses his job, he at least still has his specialty and the opportunity to find another job in this specialty. What about the military man? The specialty "battalion commander" is not the most popular in civilian life.

To help young pensioners
At the Moscow Committee on Labor and Employment, we were surprised to learn that 259 former military personnel in Moscow are currently listed as unemployed. There are only 259 former career military personnel - for the entire capital of ten million!
But this figure, of course, does not reflect the real state of affairs. Firstly, military pensioners (that is, those who served in the army for 20 years or more) naturally cannot be registered as unemployed. But these are relatively young people - over 45 years old, and they, of course, do not have enough pensions.
Secondly, it is psychologically difficult for a former officer to come to an organization called the “labor exchange” and receive the status of unemployed, which in people’s minds is strongly associated with the concept of “loser.” Therefore, a former warrant officer (or colonel) would rather drive his old Zhiguli to the left than turn to the state for help.
It is for these categories of former military personnel (as well as members of their families) that the Moscow employment center for reserve military personnel “Kutuzovsky” opened two weeks ago.
Eduard Rodyukov, reserve colonel, director of the Kutuzovsky center:
There are now 120 thousand career reserve officers in Moscow. According to our estimates, at least 20% of them are unemployed, i.e. 20-30 thousand people. During the first week of work, 52 people contacted us, including, by the way, 12 generals. Yesterday already 28 people came. I think that in a month 100-150 people will apply per day.
We did not find any excitement at the Employment Center office. Long rows of booths with computers (about twenty). An electronic display on which the client’s name and the number of the booth to which he is invited should be displayed. Several employees, two people filling out forms.
Sergei Luchinin, reserve captain, 32 years old:
I served as a sapper in the Army Corps of Engineers and retired in 1993. During this time, he managed to change several professions - he worked as a taxi driver, and was engaged in trade. In general, without a specialty, finding a normal job is quite difficult. Recently, for example, a friend and I organized a children’s theater. However, there wasn’t enough sponsorship money for anything, so I decided to look for another job and came to the center based on an advertisement. I have a certificate of completion of management courses at the Moscow Aviation Technology Institute named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky. And I expect to find a job related specifically to management. With an average salary, i.e. not less than $300 per month.
If a retired officer is still young, full of energy, and at the same time knows how to work on a computer, then his chances of finding a job are quite high. In contrast to those officers who retire to the reserve after 45 years, reserve lieutenant colonel Alexander Petrosyan complained:
I retired from service at the age of 45 in the city of Birobidzhan. But I found a job early. I made an agreement with my friends, and they took me to the position of commercial director of a small trading company. I was lucky because it is very difficult to find work in the provinces and former officers grab everything. Some retirees get jobs as security guards, the rest go wherever. Mostly through acquaintance. Now I have moved to Moscow, I already have experience, but I am refused everywhere - I am not old enough. That's why I came to the Kutuzovsky center. I hope that they will help me find at least some work.

$1,000,000 for employment
Generally speaking, former military personnel do not constitute any special segment of the labor market. Many of them turn to commercial employment services, where they are treated the same as other clients: employers, as a rule, do not care whether a person has previously worn army shoulder straps or not.
Vladislav Sedlenek, director of the Triza employment society:
Most of the former military and civilians find employment in paramilitary positions - security guards, collectors, bodyguards. Salaries of security guards range from 700 thousand rubles per month to 10 dollars per hour for the most qualified.
True, the military feels great in personnel work. They are good organizers, know how to work with people, be demanding and strictly observe discipline. Many companies specifically invite former officers to the position of HR manager. Salaries here are not bad - from 400 to 2000 dollars. But 2000 is still very rare.
If a retiree worked in construction or as a supplier, he has a good chance of finding a job in the same field.
An engineering education will be a big plus - then you should try your luck in computer and telecommunications companies. Many of them were created by former military personnel, for example, Advance. However, other army specialties - such as pilots and sailors - are practically not in demand. Therefore, you have to relearn. For example, about 15 former officers currently work as stewards in the Transaero company.
At the same time, in Moscow there are specialized recruiting agencies focused on former military personnel, such as the Strategy company. Over two thousand people have passed through the “Strategy”, which was created a year ago, during this time, 70% of whom are military personnel, and the rest are members of their families. About 500 people were employed. It was on the basis of the Strategy company that the Kutuzovsky center was created - a state enterprise of the Moscow Committee for Labor and Employment. And five billion rubles of state money have already been transferred to his accounts. Let us clarify that this is not a loan, but financing.
It is logical to assume that an organization with the loud name “Moscow Center for the Employment of Reserve Military Personnel” should be something fundamentally different compared to ordinary recruiting agencies, especially since three billion have already been spent on its arrangement (renovation of the premises, purchase of computer equipment, etc.) . However, it turned out that the Center is just such an ordinary intermediary agency.
Boris Okhapkin, Deputy Director of the Center:
Our task is to connect a former serviceman with an employer and find a place of work. Retraining and education of the military are separately financed by the Committee on Labor and Employment, as well as by foreign organizations under intergovernmental agreements. We only deal with employment. Perhaps in the future we will create jobs... Unlike other companies, we do not take money either from employed military personnel or from employers, since we are financed by the state.
Of course, adding a former military man to the database for free is a good thing, although it is not clear why not take money from the employer. Will he really covet a client of the Center just because he doesn’t have to pay a million or two rubles in commission?
Perhaps, however, the Center will really prove itself to be a million dollars and solve the problem of employing retired military personnel in Moscow. Most likely, we will learn about this from letters from the military themselves in the near future.

Yulia FUKOLOVA

Signatures
Eduard Rodyukov, director of the Kutuzovsky center: “According to our estimates, there are 30 thousand unemployed officers in Moscow.”
Sergei Luchinin, former sapper, reserve captain: “With the help of the Center, I expect to find a job with a salary of $300 a month.”
Alexander Petrosyan, former artilleryman, retired lieutenant colonel: “I have experience working in commercial structures. But now everyone refuses me because of my age.”

Magazine "Kommersant Money" No. 26 dated 07/09/1997, p. 10

Authors:

Yulia Fukolova