As Philippine Army Col. Virgilio Noora counts down the days to his retirement, the 56-year-old long-time serviceman is contemplating one question that his wife recently asked: “Will you work again?”

Noora has been away from his family for most of his 37 years in service.

“For me, the question that really stands out is, What will you do with your life after retirement? So I said, personally, I do have things I can devote my attention and time to. Opportunities only knock once,” said Noora, currently acting deputy inspector general of the Philippine Army.

Noora is among 42 retiring soldiers who underwent an intensive five-day career training under Saludo sa Serbisyo’s Career Assistance Program, an expansion of the long-running Ayala Corp. program that honors the country’s uniformed services with life-uplifting services and benefits.

During the training, Ayala’s talent management experts gave the first batch of soldiers from the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy, and Philippine Air Force lessons on creating their CVs, how to show up for job interviews, professional networking, and career matching.

These are skills that many soldiers lack, said Maj. Eva Dapanas, who is taking optional retirement after 20 years in service.

She shared that officers like her would go straight from military academy to active service after graduation, never experiencing the usual hiring process.

Through the Saludo sa Serbisyo career training, she said she and her fellow participants gained renewed confidence to go out into the job market again. DT