A recent article from the BBC highlights the growing demand for skilled workers in the data centre construction industry, driven by the rapid expansion of cloud services and AI.
Data centres, used by major tech firms like Amazon and Microsoft, require highly specialised construction and installation work, such as electrical and cabling tasks. However, the sector is struggling to recruit enough qualified workers, with a shortage of skilled labour and an aging workforce posing challenges.
The article reads:
“If someone had asked Billy Keeper five years ago what a data centre was, he admits: “I would not have had a clue.”
The 24-year-old joined specialist electrical firm Datalec Precision Installations as a labourer straight from school.
He’s now an electrical supervisor for the UK-based firm, and oversees teams up to 40-strong carrying out electrical and cabling installations at datacentres.
This means, “managing the job, from a health and safety perspective, making sure everything goes smoothly, and dealing with the clients”.
And those clients are central to today’s technology landscape. Data centres are the massive warehouse-like buildings from which big tech firms like Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook deliver their cloud services.
Other organisations, large and small, run their own dedicated facilities, or rely on “co-location” datacentres to host their computer equipment.
Demand for data centre space has been turbocharged in recent years by the rise of artificial intelligence, which demands ever more high-end computers, and ever more electricity to power them.”
“Total data centre floorspace across Europe was just over six million sq ft (575,418 sq m) in 2015, according to real estate firm Savills, but will hit more than 10 million sq ft this year. In London alone, data centre “take up” in 2025 will be almost triple that of 2019, predicts real estate services firm CBRE.
But while demand is surging, says Dame Dawn Childs, chief executive of UK-based operator, Pure Data Centres Group, “delivering and satisfying that demand is challenging.”
Just finding enough land or power for new data centres is a problem. Labour’s election manifesto promised to overhaul planning to encourage the building of infrastructure, including data centres and the power networks they rely on.
But the industry is also struggling to find the people to build them.
“There’s just not enough skilled construction workers to go around,” says Dame Dawn.
For companies like Datalec, it’s not just a case of recruiting staff from more traditional construction sectors.
Datacentre operators – whether co-location specialists or the big tech firms – have very specific needs. “It is very, very fast. It’s very, very highly engineered,” says Datalec’s operations director (UK & Ireland), Matt Perrier-Flint.
“I’ve done commercial premises, I’ve worked in universities,” he explains. But the data centre market is particularly regimented, he says, with everything carried out “in a calculated and structured way.””
The article goes on to say:
“Mark Yeeles, vice president, Secure Power Division, UK and Ireland, at power and automation firm Schneider Electric, began as an apprentice in the 1990s.
Given that the industry is often looking for people with 15 years’ experience, he says, “The time to start investing in apprentices was 10 years ago.”
However, Schneider Electric is changing its ratio of graduates to apprentices. “We’ve doubled our intake of apprentices,” says Mr Yeeles.”
We believe that apprenticeships are going to be crucial for combatting the talent shortage for data centre companies. That’s why we’ve signed up to be part of the Digital Futures Programme, a programme that gives children aged 16-19 the knowledge the need to pursue a career in the data centre industry.
Subscribe to the DC Digest
Your fortnightly update on everything going on in the data centre industry, all in one place.
DC Digest
Recent data centre news:
- Independent Power Transmission Operator and Serverfarm Join Forces to Spearhead Hyperscale Data Center Development and Operations in Greece
- Weekly Data Centre Digest – 13th December 2024
- Wonder Valley: The Largest AI Compute Data Centre Park On Earth
- AVK and Rolls-Royce Reinforce Commitment to Net-Zero, with Record-Breaking Year for HVO-Powered Generator Sales
- Weekly Data Centre Digest – 6th December 2024
Other insights
- Articles (37)
- Partnerships (7)
- Research (12)
- Uncategorized (2)
- Update (131)
Inside Data Centre Podcast
Other insights
-
CV Writing and Interview Skills with Ark Data Centres at The Bicester School
We co-hosted a Digital Futures workshop at The Bicester School with ARK Data Centres. Together, we ran sessions for Year 12 on CV writing and interview techniques.
-
Empowering Future Engineers: UTC Reading’s Community Project Day
We recently had the opportunity to volunteer as mentors at UTC Reading’s Community Project Day. Partnering with the Amuka Foundation, the event challenged students to develop real-world solutions to improve infrastructure and education at Loruko Primary School, a rural school in Kenya facing significant challenges.
-
Mentoring Tomorrow’s Data Centre Talent: Digital Futures Programme at UTC Oxfordshire
Recently, we had the privilege of participating in a Digital Futures Programme Challenge Day at UTC Oxfordshire, where Year 10 and Year 12 students took on the ambitious task of designing a fully operational data centre.
-
Fixing the Data Centre Talent Shortage Through Partnerships with Schools
A group of secondary schools are working in a new, innovative way with forward-thinking digital infrastructure companies to upskilling students in digital and technical skills, after a report calls on the government to act urgently to address a growing digital skills gap that, if left unchecked, could lose the economy billions.
-
Digital Futures Programme hosts Thrilling Sustainability Challenge Day with KAO Data
Students at UTC Heathrow were immersed in an exciting and educational day of challenges focused on sustainability in data centres, hosted by KAO Data and supported by VIRTUS, Vertiv, JLL, Cyrus One, LMG, AWS, ARK, and others.
-
Increasing Apprenticeship Opportunities in the Data Centre Industry: Our Platinum Membership in The 5% Club
We’re thrilled that we’ve been awarded Platinum accredited membership as part of The 5% Club’s esteemed 2024-25 Employer Audit Scheme.
One response to ““Worker Shortage Hampers Data Centre Boom” – BBC”
This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your magnificent post. Also, I’ve shared your site in my social networks!