Education platform addresses data centre skills shortage

Schneider Electric has announced a series of updates to its vendor-agnostic and CPD-accredited digital education platform, the Schneider Electric University. Available in 14 different languages and accessible globally for free online, the dedicated professional development platform directly addresses the data center sector skills gap, helping industry stakeholders to upskill and stay up to date with the latest technology, sustainability, and energy efficiency initiatives affecting the sector.

To-date, the Schneider Electric (SE) University has delivered more than one million courses to over 650,000 data center users, with +180 countries represented by its global user-base. The new updates to the Schneider Electric University Data Center Certified Associate (DCCA) qualification include fundamentals of power, cooling, racks, and physical security, and guidance on how to optimise data center designs to drive resilience, energy efficiency and sustainability. Its newest courses, for example, include Optimising Cooling Layouts for the Data Center; Fundamental Cabling Strategies in the Data Center; Examining Fire Protection Methods in the Data Center; and Fundamentals of Cooling II – Humidity in the Data Center. Furthermore, its curriculum addresses key focal points for the industry such as Data Center Site Selection and Planning, which offers guidance on how to select brown and greenfield sites for access to renewable energy; Alternative Power Generation Technologies, which helps drive the implementation of renewable energy strategies, on-site power generation and use of technologies such as microgrids; and Battery Technology for Data Centers, which evaluates the sustainability impact of different types of UPS batteries, the benefits of Lithium-Ion technology, and offers an analysis of the associated lifecycle costs.

Addressing the industry skills gap Research in the Uptime Institute Annual Data Center Survey 2021 estimates staff requirements will grow globally to nearly 2.3 million in 2025. Further, 32% of respondents reported difficulty in retaining staff, with 47% having difficulty finding qualified candidates for open jobs. Attracting and retaining talent within the industry, which is the heart of the digital economy, is now reaching a critical mass.

By encouraging individuals to upskill and continue their professional development for free, the Schneider Electric University is directly addressing the data center industry skills gap, helping businesses to attract, retrain both new and existing talent, and providing access to specialised technical education, everywhere.

“In the last few years data center capacity demands have grown exponentially, reaching record new highs as digitization and cloud adoption accelerates. The sector skills shortage, however, remains a significant challenge and has potential implications for other connected industries,” said Rob McKernan, Senior Vice President, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric Europe. “By providing guidance on the latest technology and sustainability initiatives, we believe the Schneider Electric University offers an invaluable resource to help bridge the skills gap by empowering business ecosystems, reskilling the workforce, and training the next generation of professionals to build the data centers of the future.”

Long-term commitment to education

Prior to its acquisition by Schneider Electric in 2006, members of the Data Center Science Center at APC™, Schneider Electric’s flagship brand of battery back-up power, surge protection, and IT physical infrastructure for data centers and edge computing environments, created the ‘Data Center University’ as a free resource to help train and upskill the next generation of industry professionals. Their vision was to create a CPD-accredited training curriculum that would support the professional development of industry stakeholders and prepare them to build the Data Centers of the Future.

Now branded the ‘Schneider Electric University’, the platform has grown to offer more than 200 data center, energy efficiency and sustainability courses via two dedicated colleges, the Professional Energy Manager (PEM), and the DCCA qualification. All courses are available as self-paced, one-hour modules, in 14 different languages, offering free access to energy education, everywhere. Further, the university is recognised by 25 different industry CPD bodies including BICSI, the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA), Engineers Ireland, and the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP).

As one of the industry’s-first dedicated professional development platforms for data centers and energy management, SE University has remained completely impartial with all courses maintaining 100% vendor-neutrality. To-date it has delivered over 1,000,000 courses to more than 650,000+ users globally and offers a crucial lifeline for industry professionals seeking to advance their skillsets.