With skills shortages intensifying, data centre operators should prioritise problem-solving and learning potential over experience, while investing in apprenticeships to secure future talent, says Mary Pender, Director of Talent at Pulsant.

Despite being nearly thirty years old, and based on the loosest of definitions, the ‘war for talent’ has not abated. Skills shortages, talent availability and an inability to reliably identify the hallmarks of future star performers plague industries as diverse as engineering, hospitality, retail and teaching.

In the data centre sector, the problem is compounded. There is not only the issue of fierce competition for technical, management and commercial talent. There is also the fact that measures being used to address these issues are not working. 

In the words of a recent Uptime Institute report, data centre operators “often use short-term tactics, such as spending more on talent retention and poaching trained candidates from other data centres. In many cases, these strategies will fail to offset the inevitable ageing out of experienced team members.”

Put simply, our industry is fighting the war for talent all wrong. And in the context of 58% of operators having trouble recruiting, and 55% facing issues with retention, it is time to change tactics. 

Hunt attributes, find talent

There is a pressing need to ensure that the sector has a pipeline of talent to pick up the baton from those ready to retire, as well as an extended pool of people that can meet the AI-driven, digital requirements of the future.

But the reality is that there is not an existing skilled talent pool out there that is big enough to meet this first need, let alone the second. We need to establish a new focus – one that prioritises the attributes of a candidate instead of their expertise.

Data centre operators are often much freer than they imagine to focus less on skills, and more on the raw attributes that might lead a candidate to thrive in a data centre career. 

Typically, this prioritises an ability to solve problems, critical thinking, and an aptitude for continual learning. The industry needs to look for these attributes – as opposed to years spent at a competitor – if it is to find its next generation of talent. 

The good news is that if we focus on these attributes, we have a much bigger potential pool of talent. Very few people know much about our industry and its role in modern life. An uncomfortable truth is that most young people don’t even know data centres exist. 

But that also means we have a vast number of people to educate and inspire. We just have to put the idea of finding pre-skilled people in perspective.

Following this, the second strand of rethinking the war for talent is that we – as an industry – need to help these candidates learn the skills they need in the best feasible way.

Growing our own

New entrants to our industry can only thrive if they can learn the knowledge and skills that will set them up for success. And for most new blood, this means apprenticeships.

This is not as straightforward as it could be. The lack of defined apprenticeship schemes in the data centre industry is a big problem. Such programmes demand committed internal resources and support from experienced people in the business. But they are a cornerstone for the talent pathway of this industry. 

We have recently made our most ambitious investment in apprenticeships to-date with new members of the team in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Maidenhead and Manchester. The new recruits will collaborate with seasoned professionals, who will guide them towards attaining industry-recognised qualifications. The insight we have gained already has been invaluable.

Firstly, in addressing the fact that the industry is unfamiliar to school leavers, collaboration is vital. To access those young people interested in technology roles, yet unaware of data centre opportunities, we connected with providers such as Gateshead College and Elite Training in Scotland to tap into existing talent pools and identify promising candidates. 

Secondly, this collaborative approach has proved invaluable to ensure a seamless transition for apprentices into the data centre world, while also equipping our internal leaders with the necessary skills to mentor and support their development.

And the good news is that these candidates are just as open to such collaboration. Our experience has been that young people recognise that apprenticeships provide a clear career pathway. 

Leaps of faith

To an industry used to poaching talent to function as an operational sticking plaster, talk of apprenticeships and changing focus are both big leaps of faith. They are certainly not a quick fix.  

But in the face of an industry facing the issue of recruiting for around 2.3 million positions by 2025, we need the widest possible pool. And when it comes to retention, apprentices show some of the highest rates of all talent groups. 

Figures like these show that if we – as an industry – want to end the war for talent, we need to change how we are fighting it.