The bulk of the members of the Spanish Armed Forces are troop personnel. 70% of the soldiers that are part of the three Armies are essential personnel, who access the military career after overcoming an opposition to which they present themselves when they are between 18 and 29 years old. Later, they are assigned to missions abroad, or to barracks in Spain, and are part of the day-to-day military logistics. Up to 45 years. Then the members of the troops and sailors stop belonging to the Army and leave as they came back: with nothing. For years the problem of unemployment among these soldiers who serve Spain has been resolved between the different governments. However, no one has so far found a solution that meets the demands of the unions that bring together these common soldiers.
Last Friday, Minister Margarita Robles held a meeting with Fátima Báñez to talk about the Es tu fuerza program. This is an agreement that the CEOE and the Ministry of Defense promoted in 2021 to incorporate military personnel into the civilian sphere when they finish their public exercise. "I am very aware of the great human and professional capital of the men and women who are going to turn 45," said Robles then, who stated that they were not going to "leave alone" those personnel who hang up their uniforms. However, neither this agreement with the CEOE nor the Sapromil program, in which more than 250 companies can access the professional profile of troops and sailors, cover the demands of these soldiers.
The troop personnel is 70% of the members of the three Armies
This is how Marco Antonio Gómez, president of the Army Troops and Sailors Association, explains it, who describes the Es tu fuerza program as a "toast to the sun that does not specify anything." According to him, what they need is "for all the military to have an equivalent title to use in civilian life." Until now, officers who retire from military life come away with the equivalent of an engineering degree, while non-commissioned officers earn a Vocational Training certification. In the case of troops and sailors, nothing. "It does not make sense that I spend two decades feeding on a Navy ship and then do not have a food handler's degree," exemplifies Gómez, who believes that there is "an operational problem" that does not help things to be solved .
They ask to acquire a title to use in civilian life to find work
From his point of view, the logical thing is that once the opposition is approved, the new soldier leaves the training center with a title that can be approved. According to his version, until now they offer them training when they already have a destination, which makes the work incompatible with specialization courses: "You cannot be on a mission studying English," insists Gómez, who believes that Robles should meet "with the Ministry of Education and reach an agreement. At the moment, both departments have agreements to offer courses to troop members through SEPE. Between 2018 and 2019, a total of 191 courses were carried out, in which 3,096 students obtained a professional certificate in 40 specialties, while in 2020 141 courses were programmed but once civilian life began. That is, over 45 years.
Despite the demand from this association, the Robles portfolio continues to bet on agreements such as the CEOE and the use of the Sapromil platform, in which last year there were more than 13,000 enlisted soldiers. "We are the base of the Army and we left without qualifications," Gómez laments before ending the conversation.
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