SUSTAINABILITY
In the 2021 Uptime Institute Annual Data Centre Survey , 32 % of respondents said that they were struggling to retain staff , with almost half ( 47 %) finding it difficult to simply find qualified candidates for their open jobs .
Furthermore , the disproportionately ageing talent pool indicates that talented individuals in the sector will retire , long before there are enough suitable candidates to replace them .
All in all , these problems are going to get a lot worse before they get any better .
The importance and value of diversifying the talent pool Despite all of these glaring issues – the majority of which have been widely published for the best part of a decade - – the data centre sector has been notably slow to respond . And so , although things are beginning to progress , representation in the industry remains low .
According to Uptime Institute reports , over 75 % of surveyed data centre operators said that their workforce consists of a maximum of 10 % women , while almost a quarter don ’ t have any women in their design , build or operations teams .
“ No longer can organisations simply expect to poach talent from their competitors – there ’ s a need to start thinking differently ,” says Andy Davis , the Director of DataX Connect .
“ The data centres sector has a retiring workforce , and this creates two challenges : a talent shortage , but also a sector embedded in historic ways of thinking . We need fresh ideas in the sector , and this can only happen if we attract more candidates from outside of it .”
“ Everyone likens it to the Einstein quote about the definition of madness – you can ' t solve a problem with the same mindset that created it . So , we need people from different backgrounds . We need different thought processes to drive change and make the world a better place ,” agrees Samantha Humphries , Head of Security
Strategy EMEA at Exabeam . Expanding the variety and
Everyone relates it to the Einstein quote about the definition of madness – you can ' t solve a problem with the same mindset that create d i t ”
SAMANTHA HUMPHRIES , HEAD OF SECURITY STRATEGY EMEA AT EXABEAM datacentremagazine . com 73