PEDCA Data Centre Essentials Training

PEDCA’s recent Data Centre Essentials training days

On Tuesday 8 April and May 22, project PEDCA organized a training day at Technology University in Delft (Netherlands) and Goethe University in Frankfurt (Germany) respectively. The training was specifically aimed at students or recent graduates that may be interested in a career within the relatively young, but fast growing, data centre sector. Both were well received and successful days! But why did PEDCA organise this?

Knowledge & Skills

One of the focus areas within PEDCA is education, training and awareness in relation to the data centre sector. If you want to become a doctor, you know you need to go to medical school. But there is no university degree, college track or vocational school specifically targeted at someone who is looking for a career within the data centre sector. Also, from the sectors’ point of view, where can you find the people you need with the right knowledge and skills? In short, it can be difficult for the two parties to find each other. A gap that the industry is quick to acknowledge.

It is not PEDCA’s ambition to become an educational or training facility itself. After all, there are plenty of qualitative institutes within Europe already. There is, however, a part to play in providing targeted advice on specific subjects, desired knowledge and skills the industry needs so that existing educational and training facilities can align their curricula to match. Which, by the way, would not only be directed at ICT related education or training. The data centre industry does not only need people with an in-depth ICT background, but also people with knowledge and skills regarding management, entrepreneurship, engineering, research, customer relations etc. As such, someone majoring in Business management for example, could focus on ICT (or data centre specific) as a minor or for their thesis. The university will then be able to identify which elements need attention.

Getting acquainted on training day

So, why would project PEDCA organize a training day itself then? One of its activities is to research and map available education that is of importance to data centre managers and related professionals. Goal of this inventory is to determine what is currently being offered and identify any GAPS compared to the needs from the sector. Together with various parties from the data centre and education sectors, the PEDCA project performed a GAP and SWOT analysis on this subject. The two one-day pilot training days were initiated in response to the clear evidence from the PEDCA research gained from both data centre employers and training organisations. The evidence suggested a gap exists between graduates and the role based training needed to work in data centres.

Offering this training provided a practical opportunity to spotlight several core and trending subjects within the sector today in front of a ‘new audience’. At the same time it provided those potentially interested in a career in the data centre sector an opportunity to dive into the topics that play a part in the design, build, management and maintenance of a data centre.

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