Kasper Munkholm
Head of Projects and Partner
The Hidden Workforce for Data Centers
Filling the data center talent gap with cross-industry skills
The data center industry is experiencing rapid growth, driven by the increasing demand for digital services, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. This has led to a talent shortage, prompting companies to explore talent beyond the data center industry.
Many skills from other industries are highly transferable to data center operations, offering a valuable opportunity to bridge the talent gap.
1. Power Generation and Distribution
Relevant Skills: Professionals from power plants, substations, or large-scale electrical infrastructure possess deep knowledge of generators, transformers, switchgear, and power distribution systems.
Roles: Electrical engineers, electricians, and technicians can transition into roles focused on backup generators, transformer stations, and electrical rooms within data centers.
2. HVAC and Mechanical Systems
Relevant Skills: Experts in cooling and ventilation systems from industries like healthcare, manufacturing, or large commercial buildings are familiar with systems analogous to those in data centers.
Roles: HVAC technicians and mechanical engineers with expertise in chillers, CRAC/CRAH systems, and cooling towers can adapt to data center cooling requirements.
3. Industrial Construction
Relevant Skills: Supervisors and technicians from large-scale industrial construction sectors, such as cement plant, power plant or PtX plant, understand complex project logistics, safety protocols, and multidisciplinary coordination.
Roles: Construction supervisors, foremen, and general contractors can manage the installation and build-out of data center infrastructure.
4. Telecommunications
Relevant Skills: Data centers share similarities with telecom facilities, including cabling, networking, and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. Experience in network operations or equipment installation is highly beneficial.
Roles: SCADA- or telecom specialists can transition into server room or Network Operations Center (NOC) roles.
5. Renewable energy
Relevant Skills: Experience with solar farms, wind turbines, or battery storage systems translates well into understanding UPS systems, battery rooms, and energy efficiency projects.
Roles: Renewable energy engineers and technicians can bring innovative perspectives to sustainable data center power solutions.
6. Marine and offshore industries
Relevant Skills: Personnel from offshore oil rigs or ships have experience with critical systems such as power generation, cooling, and backup systems under high-stakes conditions.
Roles: Marine engineers and offshore technicians are accustomed to troubleshooting complex systems and could work well in emergency power and cooling operations.
Key considerations
Personnel from other industries may require targeted training in data center-specific protocols, such as tier levels, specific tests (functional performance test, system balancing etc.) and redundancy design principles.
Strong problem-solving, communication, and adaptability are equally critical, as many challenges in data centers, like tight deadlines and interdisciplinary coordination, are similar across industries.
In summary, looking beyond traditional data center experience opens the door to a different types of talent with transferable skills. Strategic training programs can bridge the gap, ensuring new hires hit the ground running.
