INTRODUCTION

The current highly globalized environment carries the full range of security challenges the armed forces will be facing. Tackling the tasks and challenges associated with the deployment of armed forces will require military professionals, especially commanders at different levels of command and control having a much wider and more diverse range of knowledge, skills and competencies than ever before.[1]

Meeting the quality requirements of human systems and human resources requires innovative approaches. Recent modern trends in staff training, particularly in the civilian environment, are increasingly applying a competency-based approach to education based on defined learning outcomes. A competency-based approach strengthens, inter alia, the skills and abilities that enable learners to solve complex problems in the future.[2]

The main aim of the paper is to present a possible way of identifying competencies and creating specific competency requirements imposed on commanders in leading their units in military operations. The chosen methodology draws on current theories for competency building taking into account requirements of future military operations.

The research carried out an analysis of selected lists of competencies related to the military profession and a questionnaire survey of participants of career courses conducted at the Centre for Security and Military Strategic Studies - War School (CBVSS-VS) of the University of Defence in Brno.[3] Based on the research results, the paper brings a proposal of a list of commander’s generic competencies in command and control in future operations.

1 BACKGROUND

The required competencies for military professionals will be based primarily on the nature of the most likely future conflict in which the armed forces will be involved. The dynamics of the security environment, its unpredictability, and the complex interdependence of a number of elements and factors have fundamental impacts on the operating environment design, and hence the nature of military operations.[4] The article deals with the competencies for the armed forces officer related to the command and control of military units in future operations.

1.1    Competency

The term competency can be understood as a set of characteristics, qualifications, experience, knowledge, abilities, skills or features that an individual must possess in order to effectively perform a given job position in a company, or a service post within the armed forces, respectively. Hroník defines competency as follows: “Competency is a bunch of knowledge, skills, experience and qualities that supports the achievement of the goal.”[5] The possible composition of competency is shown in Figure 1.

Picture 1: Graphical expression of competency

Source: Kompetence. Management mania [online]. b.r. [cit. 2018-11-08]. Available at: https://goo.gl/eACPib

Concerning the actual breakdown of competencies, the basic and most common classification is their division into key and generic competencies. Key competencies “serve to describe behavioral manifestations that are important to all employees. They contribute to corporate values, the necessary corporate culture and expected performance.”[6] Generic competencies are universal, independent of the individual’s position or organization, and can therefore be applied anywhere. The term key and generic competencies will be used in the article in the context related to competencies.

1.2 Command and Control in Military Operations

The term command and control can be defined as “a functional process in which command authorities purposefully perform those functions over subordinate command levels aimed at the effective fulfillment of set objectives”.[7] It consists of two common processes, including the procedures the commander and his staff use to make decisions, plan, direct, coordinate and control operations. Through command, the commander exercises authority over the subordinates, while exercising military authority to set tasks and give orders to subordinates. In the process of control, the commander coordinates the activities of the subordinate forces through his staff.[8]

The term military operation defines the basic way of concentrated and coordinated use of forces in a given space and time in order to accomplish tasks supporting the achievement of political, military-strategic, operational or other objectives.[9] Operations can be divided into military operations and operations contributing to the implementation of a comprehensive approach, including non-military activities.[10]

1.3 Future Military Operations and Requirements for the Armed Forces

The nature of future military operations is based on the character of current security, resp. operating environment “characterized by elements of chaos, insecurity, unpredictability, misinformation, mistaken believes, and asymmetry with significant implications for the use of the armed forces”.[11]

The international community will face serious long-term threats over the next two decades, based on the nature of current strategic and security environment and the main trends in its evolution. These threats will be characterized by high dynamics of change, complexity and coherence of individual trends. The distribution of political power, economic and military potential in the world will be more diversified, bringing instability in the form of increased clashes and the jeopardy of a direct military threat to the Allies.

The rapid spread of instability and tensions will be allowed by modern information and communication technologies, media and social networks, which can be used to conduct information and psychological operations or war. Cyber attacks, which fundamentally threaten both the functioning of the state as a whole and its armed forces, may represent a significant threat in the context of increasing dependence on information technology. In the future, more frequent assertion of policy objectives by so-called hybrid methods can be expected. Those combine military and non-military instruments across a range of means, including the use of economic pressure, disinformation and propaganda. Easier availability of advanced technologies (information, nano/bio technology, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, etc.) will contribute to the growth of potential adversaries.[12]

From the armed forces perspective, the nature of the future security environment will require in particular:[13]

• readiness to encounter state and non-state (asymmetric) actors;
• comprehensive approach - the ability of all services of armed forces to conduct joint operations and the ability to conduct combined operations involving intelligence, military and civilian elements both on the traditional battlefield and in cyber and information space;
• increase in speed and efficiency of intelligence, planning and decision-making processes in ensuring strategic and operational control of armed forces;
• sufficiently robust and resistant armed forces with rapid response capability even at strategic distances;
• flexibility, increased preparedness and mobility of forces (staffing, military equipment and materials, training, prescribed supplies);
• suitable international cooperation and increased NATO and EU responsiveness, in particular the capacity to conduct large-scale international military operations at the corps level.

Armed forces must be able to conduct joint multinational operations. They must be able to adapt rapidly to developments in the operation and to interact with civilian leaders, non-governmental actors and other agencies in a joint area of operation. Managed information, speed of deployment and long-term sustainability in the area of operation are critical to their success.[14]

Armed forces should be able to switch quickly from combat operations to stabilization operations to restore security, stability, economy and rule of law. Future operations will be essentially civil-military in nature and will be understood as complex, combining military and legally enforced activities, humanitarian aid, diplomatic, economic, legal and other actions.[15]

Most likely, the use of armed forces will be in low-intensity conflicts. Deployed units will face asymmetric ways of fighting. The adversary will use all possible tactics ranging from terrorism, suicide attacks, sabotage, infiltration among local armed forces to sophisticated information operations to influence the local population and international public opinion.

In view of the overall security situation development in the world, the Czech Republic will secure its defense primarily through participation in foreign crisis management operations under the leadership of NATO, the EU, the UN or ad-hoc coalitions. This principle is based on the need to quickly and efficiently address the emergence of crisis situations endangering the local security situation before such crises grow into the dimensions of a wider conflict that may extend beyond the borders of a given region and possibly affect the territory of the Euro-Atlantic countries.[16]

From the long-term perspective, the above-mentioned participation will be the most probable and of the most common shape of the Czech Armed Forces engagement. It will be primarily built on the task groups on the basis of organic units supplemented by specific modules of capabilities, especially enablers of combat support and combat service support.[17]

1.4 Competencies for Commanders in Command and Control

The required armed forces capabilities put high demands on military personnel, especially on the level of their knowledge, abilities and skills (competencies). Comprehensively prepared personnel provide solid foundation for capable armed forces. Commanders, even at the lowest levels of chain of command, will assume increasing responsibility for the tasks. Their decisions might have strategic impact.[18]

The multinational environment will place high demands on military professionals regarding foreign language communication skills. In addition to verbal and written communication, commanders should be able to actively persuade others by arguments. Challenge is also related to cultural differences, which will require the ability of empathy necessary to choose such a way of acting and behavior when desirable. In addition to coalition forces, Czech commanders may also use cooperation with governmental, international and non-governmental actors in the area of responsibility to achieve their goals. It is important to be able to effectively manage the planning, organizing and coordinating process in order to appropriately use the abilities of all actors.

The engagement in multinational operations will require knowledge of the tactics and principles of fighting of other coalition units, their armaments, capabilities and limitations. Each such operation has its own operational documentation, including the rules of engagement, with which the commander often becomes acquainted during the operation. It is important to be able to understand its content and subsequently ensure its implementation among the subordinates.

In a multinational operation, priority will be given to command based on objectives (often called “Mission Command”), where the specific solution of the assigned task lies with the subordinate commander. Such an approach requires the subordinate commanders’ independence and ability to understand the objectives of the superior commander.

In the case of a high intensity conflict with advanced adversary at the same or a higher technological level, creativity, ability to seek and create new solutions to achieve mission objectives become important for the commander, even if he has no significant technological superiority over enemy. Other related skills are decisiveness, decision making even when there is not enough information and it is necessary to rely on one’s own intuition and estimation based on previous experience. Last but not least, resilience, the ability to cope with long-term stress will play an important role in a situation where the unit sustains significant losses. Despite all obstacles, the commander must still lead and motivate his subordinates to accomplish the task.

Whatever the operation is being conducted, the commander will use all tactical activities, from offensive, through defensive to stabilization and other (supporting). His tactical thinking should be flexible. If one tactic is not effective, it is necessary not to be afraid to change the approach. Overall, the operating environment will pose a number of complex problems. Commanders will look at a number of factors and impacts of their activities, so the ability to solve even complex problems will certainly become more important.

Due to the usage of modern information technologies, C4ISTAR[19] system will provide commanders with sufficient timely and relevant information to understand the situation and make decisions. Modern information means will place high demands on information and computer literacy of commanders. Overflow of information is not always beneficial, so it is important to pay attention to the ability to work with information selectively, properly formulate information requirements, and benefit from targeted information retrieval and logical interconnection.

Within the national task force, the commander must have knowledge of the principles of the use of force in all types of combat actions as well as knowledge of the capabilities of assigned elements and consequently be able to use them effectively. Just different behavior and attitudes of the various services within the task force represent potential pitfalls of command. Given the speed of escalation of threats, which may be high, it is possible to assume lack of time to thoroughly harmonize all elements of a task force.

A suitably chosen leadership style will play a crucial role in leading troops, allowing the commander to quickly gain the confidence of his new subordinates and create a cohesive team to support each other in meeting the mission objectives. For example, according to the recently published concept of future operating environment 2035, commanders should possess the following abilities:[20]^,[21]

• Digital interaction. Commanders will use the virtual world more often than personal contact to communicate with their subordinates. That is the reason for developing their emotional intelligence^[22] that will enable them to understand the needs of their subordinates, the ability to motivate them and develop them.
• Global thinking. The boundaries between individual domains in the world are blurring. Commanders must be able to understand other cultures, understand how they think and behave, and master multicultural teams.
  • Inspiration and delegation of authority. An effective commander must be able to surround himself with a multidisciplinary team of experts capable of assisting a military organization in fulfilling its mission and objectives. Subordinates must know the goals of the organization and understand it. A good commander must also be able to share success and take responsibility for any failure.
• Leading the individual to the needs of the unit. A successful commander must perceive the needs of his subordinates and create appropriate conditions for their joint action in meeting the goals of the organization. He must be able to take all steps and measures to prevent the absolute exhaustion of his subordinates while they perform the tasks. He must know his subordinates very well and perceive the climate in the organization.
• Anticipation. The commander must be able to think critically, to perceive developments in different variants and to anticipate the consequences of his decisions. He must be able to react to crisis situations in a timely and rational way. He must be sensitive to the environment in order to find the optimal solution to the problem as well as prudent and able to act in any situation, support the necessary changes for the permanent development of the organization. He must constantly develop and enable the development of others.

The synthesis of commander´s abilities and skills for command and control in future operations and the identification of areas of competencies required are shown graphically in Figure 2.

Picture 2: Commander’s competency areas

2 METHODOLOGY

The aim of the research was to identify and formulate key competencies for military professionals in command and control in operations based on the description of the nature of future military operations.

For the identification of the requirements of future military operations in which Czech Armed Forces will operate, inputs were drawn from documents related to the description of strategic, security and operating environment. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews with members of the professional military community were used, especially regarding competencies, which a military professional should possess to successfully lead subordinates in future military operations. Based on these responses, key abilities and skills for commanders in command and control were formulated. These data were used in the subsequent comparative analysis of selected competency lists in order to identify relevant competencies.

The identification of competencies and the creation of specific competency requirements for specified jobs within a given organization are among the basic prerequisites for applying a competency-based approach to education. There are a number of methods designed to identify competencies.

In the course of the research, a combined approach[23] was applied, consisting of taking over the existing model and its further modification to the specifics of the organization. The aim was to select from a number of competencies those that are critical for the armed forces and to refine the description of individual competencies so that they correspond to the established commander’s competency areas in command and control in military operations. One of the essential conditions for the success of this solution was met by selecting existing armed forces related models. To identify and create competencies, a database (list, profile) of competency requirements was used. A questionnaire was utilized for their verification.

3  RESULTS

3.1 Analysis of selected lists of competencies

Within the chosen methodology, a comparative analysis of selected profiles of graduates of military education, or requirements for the officer’s ability and skills at a specified level of command and control, respectively, was carried out. For the purposes of this research, those profiles were considered as the generic lists (dictionaries) of competencies, which were compared against each other according to the criteria set out below.

The following competency lists were used:

• The profile of the graduate of Management of the Armed Forces (AF), Faculty of Military Leadership[24] of the University of Defence in Brno
• The profile of the graduate of the Senior Officers Course[25] at the CSMSS - WS of the University of Defence in Brno
• The profile of the EU officer listed in the EU Commission Database for Armed Forces - European Skills/Competences, Qualifications and Occupations Database (ESCO)
• EU Sectoral Qualifications Framework for Military Officer Profession (EU SQF-MILOF),[26] which focuses on competencies related to learning outcomes (learning objectives)

The selection of the competencies from the above lists was made on the basis of the following criteria:

• competency must be generic in relation to whatever service;
• competency must relate to command and control of military units/systems;
• competency must relate to the future operating environment and military operations.

According to those criteria, 69 competencies were chosen for further analysis. The next step was to select competencies that apply across all the compared profiles and meet the following criteria:

• to have a definition of competency;
• to be selected according to the conformity of key terms;
• where there is no Czech equivalent, the merits of the criterion should be evaluated;
• competency is identical for at least two profiles.

Those criteria were met by 24 competencies, which were divided into the following thematic areas based on their description:

• Leadership
• Planning and process management
• Problem solving
• Communication

Table 1 shows graphically the result of a comparative analysis (the number before slash refers to the 69 selected competencies; after the slash, there are 24 of the competencies selected for the questionnaire survey).

Table 1: Evaluation of the comparative analysis results

3.2  Questionnaire survey

A questionnaire survey was conducted to verify the relevance of the selected competencies by comparative analysis. The research sample of respondents among the participants of career courses provided by CSMSS - WS was selected by the method of random selection using the quota selection technique.^[27] Defined criteria for the selection of respondents was their experience in working at command and control positions across all levels of command. Most respondents had experience from multinational operations or employment at foreign workplaces, such as staff position within both NATO and EU command structure (71% in total). In the online questionnaire survey, 50 respondents were addressed, 39 respondents (78%) responded.

The questionnaire contained 24 closed questions, which were focused on surveying the respondents’ opinion whether the formulated competencies can be considered as key ones for command and control in future military operations. At the end of the questionnaire, the possibility of one open question was given. The answers to the questions were evaluated on a five-point rating scale (Agree; Mostly agree; Neutral; Mostly disagree; Disagree).

The evaluation of the respondents’ answers in the questionnaire survey was carried out by statistical evaluation of the frequency of occurrence of individual answers, including the indication of the relative frequency in percent. The answers “Agree” and “Mostly agree” were considered as a consent and “Disagree” and “Mostly disagree” were disapproving. The answer “Neutral” was not assigned to either option. The respondent’s final answer to the question was determined based on the relative frequency of consent or disagreement. Picture 3 shows a graphical representation of the evaluation of the questionnaire survey.

Picture 3: Evaluation of the questionnaire

Responses from the questionnaire are ranked according to the level of affirmative responses with the relevance to command and control. The evaluation of the questionnaire survey clearly shows that respondents largely identify themselves with the chosen competencies in all surveyed areas. The consent rate for individual questions oscillates between 82-100%. The highest level of agreement with the defined competencies was achieved in questions 1, 2 and 3, where 100% of respondents answered positively. On the contrary, the extent of disagreement ranges from 2.6 to 15.4%. The highest rate of disagreement was recorded in questions 24 (15.4%) and 23 (12.8%). In the case of other disagreeing answers, questions 21 and 22 could be mentioned, where 10.3% of respondents disagreed or question 20 with 7.7% of disagreeing answers.

4 DISCUSSION

When comparing selected lists of competency requirements, it emerged that the competencies stated in the profiles of graduates of Management of the Armed Forces are formulated in comparison with the profiles of EU officers very generally. Those are based on the economical and managerial focus of the study program, which should also prepare graduates for employment in the so-called second career (after leaving armed forces). The competencies given in the profile of a graduate of the Senior Officers Course also face the problem of correct formulation when compared to the profiles of EU officers. A third of those competencies are related to staff work and command and control in everyday peace life. It is resulting from the fact that the course is focused on the training of officers also for staff position at the battalion level and above. The profiles of officers within SQF-MILOF, although they are in the process of their development, can be assessed as the most relevant in terms of their content and structure. They divide competencies by role, rank, level of command, including the necessary knowledge and skills.

From the results of the empirical survey, it can be stated that all selected competencies were confirmed by the respondents as valid. In terms of the relative frequency of affirmative responses, the following competencies were evaluated by 100% of the respondents’ consistent responses:

• Lead military troops in dynamic, complex, and uncertain operating environment
• Self-educate, self-evaluate and develop own as well as subordinates’ competencies
• Communicate effectively in an international environment, taking into account individual and cultural differences

For this reason, the aforementioned competencies can be considered as key competencies for successful leading of troops in a multinational and variable operating environment where commanders will face a number of other incentives encouraging permanent self-education and subordinates’ development. What is quite surprising is the fact that the answer to the question concerning the ability to communicate in a foreign language has not been unequivocally confirmed as one of the key competencies.

Although the following competencies were the lowest in terms of the relative frequency of affirmative responses, a range of 80-90% of the affirmative responses shows that these competencies are also critical to the commander’s work:

• Write military communications (orders, reports, notes, memos) according to the specifications and regulations of an organization
• Communicate and interact in foreign language without compromising communication and persuasion skills
• Solve problems creatively, acquire, combine, treat and evaluate information and knowledge in a constructive and critical way
• Advise superiors regarding military operations
• Delegate activities and tasks to others according to their ability, level of preparation, competencies and legal scope of practice

At this point, it can be stated that the high percentage of positive answers might imply that respondents identified themselves with the chosen competencies from their own perspective and experience rather than from a rationally based approach. Some of these competencies are based on practical operational needs, although they are basically established on soft competencies. This can be partially seen in connection with the results of previous research,[28] where respondents agreed that competency requirements for officers stated in the National System of Occupations[29] reflect in large scale the competencies in command and control in military operations (80% of positive answers) and those that are used for the need of military personnel development (64% of positive answers). It was stated despite the fact that those competencies are not formulated in the line with modern relevant theories and practice.

5 PROPOSAL OF COMMANDER’S COMPETENCIES

Based on the data gained from the research, proposal was created for the commander’s competencies in command and control in future operations (see Table 2). This file contains a list of competencies investigated in the questionnaire, including their definition. The set of competencies is only generic and for the purposes of further use it is necessary to describe the knowledge and skills for the fulfillment of individual tasks. Table 3 shows a summary of the commander’s competencies proposed by the respondents in the questionnaire survey.

Table 2: Commander’s competencies in command and control in future operations

Table 3:  Commander's competencies suggested by respondents in the questionnaire survey

CONCLUSION

The introduced list of competencies for the Czech Armed Forces Officer presents one of the possible examples how to formulate requirements placed on officers in the area of command and control in military operations. Nevertheless, the results of the research show that this issue needs to be further elaborated and developed. Competencies, particularly the process of their definition, regardless of their purpose and relation, should be seen from the perspective of management of human resources as a whole. The requirements imposed on officers should be formulated as the job competencies related to the tasks, which are defined either by the competency model or through competencies matrix or profile for certain military career stages. Those competencies should then be supported by relevant learning outcomes within educational process.

The used methodology based on combined approach founded on existing model and its further modification seemed to be relevant and applicable in the Czech Armed Forces conditions. Nevertheless, the verification of the selected competencies in the questionnaire needs to be taken into account as illustrative. This phase will require involvement of a much broader spectrum of respondents form various areas and fields.

The EU military officer profiles according to ESCO and especially SQF-MILOF have been proven as more relevant frameworks of competencies compared to the profile of a graduate of Management of the Armed Forces or profile of a graduate of the Senior Officers Course. It is due to the fact that both EU profiles have been formulated and structured to be as generic as possible for all rank or carrier corps as well as being established on current theories dealing with competency-based approach to education. Moreover, SQF-MILOF is based on the European Qualification Framework methodology of describing learning outcomes and encompasses extensive amount of entries from various national sources. An extensive analysis of learning areas had been done before SQF-MILOF started to be established as well.

Last but not least, an essential input into the definition of officers’ competencies is the nature of the future security and operating environment and the resulting requirements of future operations. There is a broad range of related documents that need to be taken into account, especially those from NATO. For the purpose of this article, only a limited spectrum of documents was utilized.

REMARKS AND CITATIONS

[1] SAIBERT Richard. Přístup ke stanovování kompetencí vojenských profesionálů k velení a řízení ve vojenských operacích. Vojenské rozhledy. 2019, 28 (1), 030-047. ISSN 1210-3292 (print), 2336-2995 (online). Available at: www.vojenskerozhledy.cz.

[2] SAIBERT Richard. Strategické přístupy k přípravě vojenských profesionálů pro budoucí operace. Brno, 2019. Disertační práce. Univerzita obrany v Brně.

[3] ŠTĚPÁNEK, Přemysl. Kompetence vojenského personálu pro velení a řízení. Brno, 2019. Závěrečná práce kurzu generálního štábu. Univerzita obrany. Vedoucí práce Ing. Richard Saibert.

^[4] Ref. 2.

[5] HRONÍK, František. Rozvoj a vzdělávání pracovníků. Vyd. 1. Praha: Grada, 2007. Vedení lidí v praxi. ISBN 978-80-247-1457-8.

[6] KUBEŠ, Marián, Dagmar SPILLEROVÁ a Roman KURNICKÝ. Manažérské kompetence: Způsobilosti výjimečných manažerů. Praha: Grada Publishing, 2004. ISBN 80-247-0689-9.

[7] VEJMELKA, Oto. Velení a řízení v operacích: Pub 53-01-1. Vyškov: Správa doktrín ředitelství výcviku a doktrín, 2006, p. 6.

[8] Ref. 5, p. 6.

[9] DUBEC, Radek. Doktrína Armády České republiky. 3. vyd. Praha: Ministerstvo obrany České republiky - Vojenský historický ústav Praha pro Centrum doktrín VeV - VA Vyškov, 2013. ISBN 978-80-7278-619-0.

[10] AJP - 01 Spojenecká společná doktrína: Standard NATO. Vydání E - verze1. Úřad NATO pro standardizaci, Brusel, 2017.

[11] SPIŠÁK, Ján; PETRÁŠ, Zdeněk; FIEBICH, Marek; RAK, Tomáš; GIRETH, Jan; SAIBERT, Richard. Operační prostředí: Implikace pro použití a rozvoj ozbrojených sil ČR 2018. Studie. Brno, Univerzita obrany: Univerzita obrany v Brně, 2019, 22 p. ISBN 978-80-7582-094-5.

[12] Dlouhodobý výhled pro obranu 2035, 2019. Praha: Ministerstvo obrany České republiky. ISBN 978-80-7278-772-2.

[13] Ref. 10.

[14] Ref. 9.

[15] Ref. 9.

[16] NATO Public Diplomacy Division. Active Engagement, Modern Defence. Strategic Concept for the Defence and Security of the Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Brussels, Belgium, 2010, p. 6

[17] Ref. 10.

[18] Ref. 9.

[19] Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance.

[20] Future Land Operating Environment 2035: Dirección de Investigación, Doctrina, Orgánica y Materiales. DIDOM_IV-22. Spanish Army, 2018.

[21] MAREK, Milan and Josef PROCHÁZKA, Janka KOSECOVÁ. Příprava velitelů pro strategickou úroveň řízení obrany. Vojenské rozhledy. 2019, 28 (2), 020-037. ISSN 1210-3292 (print), 2336-2995 (online). Available at: www.vojenskerozhledy.cz.

[22] Emotional intelligence is concerned with understanding oneself and others. It includes five components: 1. self-awareness, 2. self-control, 3. motivation, 4. empathy, and 5. social dexterity. The concept of emotional intelligence may be more difficult to understand, but it is one of the keys to identify and develop the so-called soft competencies.

[23] ROTHWELL, William. Career planning and succession management: developing your organization's talent--for today and tomorrow. Westport, Ct.: Praeger Publishers, 2005. ISBN 02-759-8359-5.

[24] The profile is based on the characteristics of the program, which determines the scope of professional knowledge, skills and competencies for the graduate (degree program) based on the learning outcomes.

[25] The graduate profile is anchored in the Preparatory Study of the Lifelong Learning Program in the form of professional knowledge and skills that graduate must demonstrate.

[26] EU SQF MILOF contains competency profiles at all levels of the officer’s career in relation to learning outcomes focusing on knowledge, skills, autonomy and responsibility.

[27] Quota selection is an unlikely selection, in which we do not select randomly, but try to meet predetermined quotas (e.g., age, gender, completed education or place of residence). The prerequisite for the quota selection is the knowledge of the distribution of these traits in the population, or in given career courses, respectively.

[28] Ref. 2

[29] An open and constantly developed database of occupations administered by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs reflects the real situation on the national labor market. Through the Sector Councils, it monitors and records, in particular, the description of detailed requirements for workers in the form of general and professional competencies.