On November 11, Veteran’s Day, which is dedicated to the recognition of military service, Uptime Institute wishes to call attention to the unique contribution of veterans to the data center industry.
The Armed Forces has provided a longstanding and capable resource pool for data center management, engineering, and operations. Uptime Institute itself, throughout its history, has thrived due to the contribution of veterans in key positions.
Members of the Uptime Institute Network (a knowledge community of data center operators and executives) have described the challenge of attracting, training and retaining staff as chronic.
As the data center industry faces a global shortfall in qualified candidates, veterans represent a unique resource pool to address what many inside and outside of Uptime Institute see as an impending crisis of experience in data center operations. Uptime Institute has undertaken multiple initiatives to raise awareness for both veterans and those looking to fill vacant positions in data centers.
In the latest Uptime Institute Journal (V2) , Lee Kirby, Retired Army Colonel and Uptime Institute Senior Vice President of Facilities Management, makes a case for veterans as data center talent and provides a practical course of action for those organizations interested in pursuing. Download Kirby's article, "Resolving the Personnel Shortage in the Data Center Industry," here.
Before joining Uptime Institute, Mr. Kirby founded Salute Inc. an organization dedicated to hiring veterans for data center services with data center cleaning as the first entry position and progressing to installation and select maintenance services that require disciplined labor.
"When I started Salute Inc., my goal was to introduce veterans to the data center industry and teach new skills while they complete their education and hopefully ascend into a career path in the field," Kirby said. "Now with Uptime Institute supporting the same vision, I know we will have a much greater impact. This effort can help solve a critical personnel shortage, and have the added benefit of bringing up candidates with leadership and discipline skills that will further enrich the industry."
Uptime Institute Network has formed a Veterans Subcommittee to proactively alert veterans to positions available within the data center industry. This is one remedy for the longstanding concern of Uptime Institute Network Members that the data center industry is hidden from those seeking to advance their careers in critical facilities engineering and management. Through this subcommittee, an impressive list of companies has committed to bringing together veterans and data centers.
"We are honored to support military service men and women with our efforts, and proud to partner with our Network Member companies on this project," said Martin McCarthy, executive chairman, Uptime Institute, and chief executive officer of The 451 Group. "This effort not only benefits our country's heroes, but also brings skilled and dedicated individuals to the data center talent pool."
