FEATURE
industry collaboration
There are a large number of organisations who can all legitimately claim to support the industry , but no single voice has been speaking for it .
skills base , there needs to be recognised training available to enable us to bring people into the industry – either as entry level candidates or from other relevant sectors – and help them develop the skills and competencies needed to work with this technology and understand the mission critical environment in which data centres operate . At present , there are no qualifications of this nature in the UK – a situation that needs to change if the industry is going to be in a position to meet increased demands for its services .
But before we can look to develop these qualifications , we need to identify and agree the competencies that are essential for entry and higher level roles in this industry . This is where the fact we don ’ t yet have a single voice that speaks for the industry is an issue , as it means there is no one organisation that could identify what the industry needs from its qualifications – although there are plenty that could legitimately be involved in the process of doing so .
Collaboration
Perhaps that ’ s the solution – to this and the issue of client awareness . With so many organisations involved in supporting this industry and so much expertise within it , the way to develop a position that reflects the needs of the industry is to work collaboratively . If we bring industry bodies , employers and other stakeholders together , look at the vast array of standards that apply to data centres , and collectively identify what constitutes good design and installation practice we might develop something that could serve as the basis for guidance for clients and best practice for the industry . Once this is developed , we could then use it as the basis for identifying what competencies are needed to carry out the various roles within the industry and design a suite of qualifications based on achieving those . ECA recently held a round table event involving a range of figures from the data centre industry , and the need for collaboration in developing guidance , best practice and a training pathway was one of a range of issues we all agreed on , but by far the most important . We ’ re looking to arrange for those that attended to meet again and identify if there are others who can help us with this activity before we start work on it .
Our aim is that , by bringing these organisations together , we ’ ll begin to develop solutions to issues which are slowing the industry ’ s progress . Data centres are the lynchpin of the digital economy , and by ensuring that recognised guidance and best practice are freely available to clients and specialists and that we have a means of training those who seek a career in the industry that is recognised by the organisations within it , we can develop the position and the profile that our work – and the expertise of our people – deserves .
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