Music, football and baseball are some of his passions, but safety will always be the mainstay of his life. José Vicente Calderón, the professional of the month, shares his vision of the security industry and the importance of training for its evolution.
By Alejandra García Vélez
José Vicente Calderón is currently the manager of General Security, but before establishing himself as a reference in this field, his career traveled other paths until reaching the world of security almost by chance; and it is that in reality his first vocation was music. Graduated in Electronic Engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana he started working when he was still a student at the company Promusica Ltda.
Calderón is a native of the city of Neiva, located in the south of Colombia, where he was born on March 14, 1955 and then moved to Bogotá where he finished his high school and university studies. His development in Promusica was marked by the position of technician in the service department, from where he would move to serve as manager of the yamaha electronic organ assembler in Colombia.
After his time in the field of electronic music, the professional of the month ventured into a company that many dream of but that few dare to try: Create their own business. A difficult task that according to Calderon "left me a very large debt and two dear children."
Because of the above, our guest relates, as soon as he was offered a job at the Bank of the Republic he accepted without hesitation, even without knowing what exactly the position was and the functions he would perform.
And that's how fate put his first big challenge in the security industry on the road: entering the Department of Protection and Security that was in charge of all the infrastructure of the bank and its buildings, including museums and libraries. "There I met and worked with excellent people. It was my boss who guided me and taught me the first knowledge of electronic security."
Commitment to safety
In Calderón's opinion, beyond technical knowledge, the main characteristic of a manager in the field of electronic security is honesty. Well, as he explains, this term is closely linked to the primary objective of any company in this field: to guarantee the security of the environment of who contracts the service.
"Being safe this environment the client can work quietly in the day and at night rest in total peace because you have the assurance that your assets are protected. We must be honored to respond to the need of the client taking into account that he gives us the security of his goods, his employees and his family, so the solutions that are proposed must be conscientious with the best cost-benefit, "he said.
As for the relationship with the employees of a company, it highlights the importance of creating a relationship of trust and belonging with the company. For him this issue is of vital importance because security is a very specialized branch in which the investment in staff training is very high and the experience and relationship with the customers of each employee is an invaluable intangible contribution to the company.
On the other hand, among the positive aspects highlighted by the guest are the future prospects of the industry, which as he says have always been and will continue to be promising; "Every day new companies emerge that manufacture, distribute and others that buy the companies that interest them, currently creating mega companies that own 80% of the large non-Chinese companies that produce security systems," he said.
Training to grow
When talking about the threats or problems he detects in the market, José Calderón is categorical in stating that in the last 10 years there has been an explosion of companies that intend to offer solutions in electronic security but that are born without having the necessary experience to do so.
"Unfortunately the purchase decision is almost always the financier's or taking into account the lowest price in public offerings. That is why many times the business is given to the one who presents a lower cost proposal, without taking into account that it offers low-end equipment supported by poor quality labor, which affects the good name of the companies that continuously prepare and train to offer a good technical proposal supported with qualified labor. "
Calderón also stressed that "thanks to associations such as ALAS, which care about training all members of the industry, from salespeople, technicians and managers, the level of professionalism has increased."
Therefore, without a doubt, training is for the professional of the month the most important tool that all security professionals have. Taking advantage of the seminars and trainings that manufacturers or associations such as WINGS and NFPA dictate is essential, in addition to attending the fairs where the latest technological advances are exhibited, Calderón points out.
The family
His wife, with whom he has been married for thirty years, four children, two men and two women, make up his family. Three of her children are already older and professional, while the youngest is currently in the sixth year of high school.
Regarding his fans, he confesses that for a long time he was a fan of Millonarios, one of the teams in the capital of Colombia, but that for a few years all his support is for the team of his hometown Altlético Huila, which recently ascended to the first division of Colombian football.
In addition, the taste for music is still maintained, in fact the professional of the month still belongs to the Tuna of his university, of which he was also director in 1981. It was precisely that year, the 81, in which he got married, and before his new commitments and occupations he left the position of director of the tuna, although it is an activity that he is still passionate about.
In that sense, he confesses himself as a great fan of Colombian music, especially of the instrumental Andean. Turning to the subject of sports, Calderón recalls that during his youth he was a baseball player and one of the main promoters of the creation of the Bogotá Baseball League. He was also champion of Bogotá in 1976 with the team of his neighborhood Pablo VI and was selected to the National Youth of that year.
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