Check Out EdgeConneX Solutions In Overcoming HR Gaps In Data Centers

Illustration of data centers (photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Asia Pacific region has experienced rapid growth in the data center industry over the past few years. The giant economy of China and India is leading the digital push in the region along with high-growth economic zones in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia and Vietnam.

However, it should be noted that this growth is accompanied by a lack of skilled professional personnel to operate and maintain these facilities.

According to the Uptime Institute Survey, a sharp increase in data centers requires a rapid increase in labor. It is estimated that by 2025 alone, the number of staff needed will reach nearly 2.3 million worldwide.

More than half (53 percent) of Uptime's 2022 Global Data Center Survey respondents reported that their organization had difficulty finding eligible candidates, compared to 47 percent in 2021 and 38 percent in 2018.

EdgeConneX, a pioneer in Hyperlocal Data Center Solutions to the global Hyperscale, understands that the human resource gap situation in the data center industry is a serious problem if it is not handled properly.

Quality data center workforce has been a major challenge for the industry over the years and becomes increasingly difficult amid increasing data center capacity. The key lies in creativity on the approach that needs to be done right now and doubling efforts to attract and maintain human resources in this sector," said Thiam Chye Sim, Head of Operations, Asia Pacific, EdgeConneX, in a statement received.

To that end, EdgeConneX compiled several solutions to withdraw and maintain human resources in the data center, including:

Recruiting human resources with complementary expertise

Data centers traditionally rely on workers with special backgrounds in the field of electrical or mechanical engineering, with experience in the data center sector.

However, in the midst of the incredible global competition for technician human resources at this time, nearly half of the world's technician human resources are expected to retire in 2025, according to the Uptime Institute Survey recently, there is a need to recruit based on more diverse expertise.

The expertise of veterans in logistics, communication, the ability to solve problems, leadership, and their ability to work in situations under high pressure is very suitable to be applied in the data center space.

Training and skill improvement

Training and retraining of the workforce are important elements in the organization to ensure that operational standards are always maintained. Training can provide opportunities for increased skills that function as a means for career development and professional growth.

In addition, improving skills allows the workforce to take on a more senior role in line with the growth in the footprint of our data center, and these incentives contribute to helping us maintain human resources.

Partnering with universities

There is a need for formal training and education programs for the data center industry in universities. It is very important to fill this awareness gap, especially among students, to attract new talents into this sector.

In addition, partnerships between higher education institutions and data center providers can be invaluable in helping businesses to answer the growing needs of human resources, offering a reliable way for companies to foster educated and trained workers.

The lack of human resources in the data center industry, especially in the Asia Pacific region, is a significant challenge. However, this also provides opportunities for companies to invest in training and development programs to attract and maintain skilled professionals. Overcoming this labor shortage is very important for the growth continuity and success of the data center industry," concluded Thiam Chye Sim.