Within the next decade, a quarter of the data center workforce will retire. That's according to research from the Uptime Institute which revealed that in the US and Europe, 25 percent of data center staff are currently over 55 years old. The industry faces high demand for professionals as it grows exponentially, and two fundamental challenges: a shortage of both skills and available labor.

By now, most data center developers and operators recognize the need to attract enthusiastic, talented young people into our industry, but what does the sector look like to those searching for their first job? I sat down with three of my young colleagues to discuss their experiences. Lorna is a year-long placement student working at Stack as part of her university degree; Vanessa is a graduate coming to the end of an internship and moving to a graduate role following a degree in biology; and Christian is a qualified electrician who joined Stack as an apprentice directly from trade school in Italy.

First impressions

"For my marketing placement, I wanted to work in an industry that's important and meaningful," said Lorna. "I wasn't familiar with data centers or their role in society but I got to researching and quickly understood just how much I had been missing. When I realized the vital role they play in our connected world and just how different our lives would be without them, I knew I wanted to get on board and help promote the industry to the public.

The placement was also described as being 'hands on', which is exactly what I needed to supplement my academic work." For Vanessa, the focus was always on sustainability. “My degree was in ecology and animal biology and that developed my understanding of environmental impact. This was further enhanced by the specialist modules I studied on sustainability. I knew that I wanted a structured introduction into a sustainability career but was not looking at the data center industry, and knew very little about it until this internship was recommended to me.

"Now that I’m working here, I’m learning more about the importance of alignment between our sustainability initiatives, applied from construction to operations, and growth in demand for digital services. It’s amazing to be working as part of a dedicated ESG team in such an impactful industry."

She added: "As an early career step, it is great to be doing something so relevant to my life and which has a direct application to so much of the modern world.”

Christian’s education at a technical college in Italy presented him with several options for a first job as an electrician in different companies. “I wanted to be working on technical tasks in the field, but with variety and the opportunity for progression. My school has a long-running relationship with Stack which is how I learned about an opportunity at the Milan data center. I really did not know what to expect, but I was surprised and impressed at just how many electricians were employed there and the importance of their day-to-day work.”

Day-to-day experience

“What I have discovered over the last couple of years,” Christian continued, “is an exciting mix of technical tasks working on critical systems, training both on-the-job and with partners, and increasing opportunities to take on more managerial duties. No two days are the same. One day I may be in the field maintaining equipment, and the next I could be in the office coordinating activities and monitoring and reporting on our critical systems.”

He has also seen his role expand and develop. “I saw an opportunity to take on new responsibilities when my manager was looking for support on some of the management aspects of our technical team. I put myself forward and was accepted for the role, which has enabled me to grow and develop new skills. Stack is a great place to work and presents more opportunities than other field electrician jobs I could have taken after school.”

Vanessa describes a similar experience. “I quickly found myself immersed in ESG projects and I'm looking at a host of sustainability initiatives across EMEA with our team. We're constantly evolving and improving our various programs and I feel my input is genuinely valued. The last few months have really helped me understand the crucial importance of striking a balance between growth and environmental stewardship.”

“From the outset, we have been involved in the day-to-day operations of the business,” Lorna confirmed. “I'm always learning, even more so than at university. Even being copied on emails helps me understand the complexity and breadth of roles and responsibilities within a data center organization and the communications and marketing imperatives it creates.”

“Vanessa and I were invited to attend a data center conference in London recently to help build our awareness, understanding, and connections across the sector,” added Lorna. “I also got to travel to Switzerland recently to support our communications and marketing around another industry event,” she continued. “The opportunity to bridge internal, external, and marketing communications helps me see and understand the multiple different aspects of data center operations and their importance to clients.”

What’s next

Lorna will return to complete her final year at university after her placement but is certainly considering coming back to the industry when she graduates. “I can definitely see myself continuing in the industry; there is so much opportunity and it is growing so fast. Many of my friends say that they have not had such exciting placements, nor had the opportunity to get as involved as I have in important projects.”

Christian, who has already spent two years with the company, remains convinced that he made the right choice. “I could have taken a different path and worked on domestic or commercial electrical installations or security systems, for instance, but those would not have allowed me to grow so quickly and to explore so many different facets of being an electrician. I’d say to anyone graduating from a trade school like mine to go for it and grab opportunities in the data center sector.”

“There is a lot of space for me to grow in the ESG field within this industry,” added Vanessa. “Currently we have a lack of younger people in this industry, so I’d encourage anyone to investigate data centers and understand the wide range of roles and opportunities the sector provides.”

All three young people I spoke to agreed that apprenticeships, internships, placements, and graduate programs were an essential way into an industry that is only just beginning to be understood. Creating a clear pathway of support for primary school-age children, all the way through to seasoned professionals looking to reskill is key to the industry's continued growth.

Earlier this year Stack launched a data center course for primary school students in Schaffhausen, near our Zurich campus, which offers hands-on experiences in computer science and technology as well as visits to Stack's Swiss data centers. And for young adults, our scholarship scheme in the UK is designed to increase social mobility by creating opportunities for young women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to experience and secure roles in our industry.

Accessible paths for tradespeople are also hugely important and something we’re now developing across EMEA. Our program in Italy invites both technical neo-graduates, as well as tradespeople from outside the industry, to learn on-the-job as data center technicians. In collaboration with educational institutions and training experts, our apprenticeships offer valuable, hands-on experience and a targeted, progressive entry into the industry.

As we look to create a diverse pipeline of talent and augment our education programs for the industry to grow, thrive, and evolve, partnerships are increasingly essential to creating solid pathways.