I have often said the data center industry is one of the longest-running apprenticeship programs because the curriculum has not kept up with industry needs. In fact, I'm aware of less than 10 formal data center degrees. Why are we having so much trouble attracting new talent?
First, I believe that because the curriculum is lacking, so is the focus. When young students look through careers and classes at college or vo-tech school, they don’t see data center anything. Recently, I was talking to a large group of students, and I asked how many had heard of data centers prior to that day. One student raised his hand. I asked who he knew in the industry, and he replied that it was his father. This lack of industry awareness highlights a big problem across the board. We tried to keep data centers hidden because of risk for many years.