CNet Training calls on datacentre sector for input on skill shortage research

CNet Training is inviting the datacentre community to help inform a multifaceted research project into the cause and impacts of the sector’s growing skills crisis.

The global datacentre training provider wants to canvas the opinions of people working in the sector to get a better idea as to why so many operators experience difficulties when trying to recruit qualified and skilled individuals to work for them.

As previously reported by Computer Weekly, recruitment and retention issues in the datacentre sector have emerged as a recurring theme of discussion in recent years, with operators regularly sharing anecdotal accounts of the challenges they face when trying to source new talent.

The reasons why talent is in such short supply is often attributed to the fact the datacentre sector has for many years operated under a veil of secrecy, making it difficult for outsiders to get a handle on the career opportunities that exist there.

Another recurring complaint from operators is that not enough is being done at school level to promote the datacentre sector as a viable career destination, and it is CNet’s intention to find out if there is more to it than that.

“The global shortage of qualified, skilled people is a topic that is often discussed in datacentre sector circles but is not widely understood. Often called a ‘skills shortage’, it’s routinely misidentified and simplified,” Dr Theresa Simpkin, higher and further education principal at CNet Training, told Computer Weekly.

“The reality is more complex and evidence to clarify the perfect storm of skills shortages, labour shortages, skills wastage and talent-management challenges is almost non-existent in this sector.”

To rectify that, the company has created an online survey, and is urging everyone working in the datacentre industry around the world to fill it in and share their observations.

“Understanding what’s really going on is important as the responses for all these individual challenges [mentioned above] are different,” said Simpkin. “If the sector is truly invested in generating effective and broad-ranging change to the current talent crisis, it must draw on current data.”

“This survey aims to gather a global suite of data to generate a meaningful analysis of the current situation on behalf of and for the benefit of the datacentre sector more broadly.”

The consolidated results from the survey and accompanying research will be made available to members of the education sector and industry associations once the project is complete.