Workforce Development: Building a Skilled Talent Pool for India’s Growing Datacenter Industry

Today, the Indian Data Center Industry is facing a unique challenge. While India is cruising towards its targeted $5 trillion economy with its large talent pool, a thriving young population and aspirant job seekers, the Data Center Industry is still finding it difficult to bridge the industry specific talent gap.

But does this mean that the traditional educational programs cannot offer secured jobs?

Not really, but the pace at which the skills and knowledge are evolving as compared to the speed at which curriculum undergoes change are very different and it is not always in tandem.

Upcoming areas like AI, machine learning, cloud computing, quality assurance, data analysis, data science, big data, information security, risk analysis, cybersecurity analytics, and automation are new areas that need a lot of skilled people; however, there are very few formal programs around the same topics.

The time is ripe for businesses, academicians and knowledge partners to come together and develop an ecosystem for skilled workforce development.

As the backbone of India’s digital transformation, data centers are emerging as critical infrastructure. To support this rapid growth, the industry needs a robust talent pool equipped with the right skills to manage and maintain these high-tech environments, especially in Rated 4 data centers where the highest levels of redundancy, security, and operational efficiency are required.

Youth with niche engineering and technology skills will be in high demand, acting as a backbone to the future growth that the industry promises to achieve. They will have abundant opportunities in the areas of design, cybersecurity, electrical, mechanical, operations, safety (and EHS), security, and sustainability (and ESG).

Besides core technology skills, youth need to develop advanced cognitive skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving, executive function-related skills such as self-regulation and metacognition, and socio-emotional skills such as adaptability, creativity, and perseverance.

Why is it essential to build a skilled talent pool for India’s Data Center industry?

India is uniquely positioned as a global leader in IT talent, thanks to its large pool of engineers and tech professionals. The country produces millions of STEM graduates each year, many of whom possess the analytical thinking and problem-solving skills required for complex data center operations. However, data centers can’t seem to find the right talent and 42% are finding it tough to retain their people.

As the needs for data centers continue to grow with the growing trend of digital adoption, cloud computing, and IT innovations, this problem will be further exacerbated, without upskilling.

To overcome this situation, it is essential for educational institutions to team up with technology and data center companies to create skill programs that can close the skill gap and create a global talent pool of data center management professionals. With the right training, India’s talent pool can easily step into the advanced data center roles demanded by the expanding market.

It is imperative that the government, both state and central, work with the education sector, both modern and conventional, to upskill the young talent pool in the most efficient and sustainable way.

Understanding this, major technology giants across the globe have started working with local governments or tied up with online learning platforms to impart skills essential for a career in the digital infrastructure industry.

Central government platforms like Swayam or the online learning platforms should be roped in to create world-class online learning courses that offer real life scenario training. This skill will be useful for both freshers as well as experienced employees.

A mentor driven immersive learning program, especially in fields like data privacy, sustainability, cybersecurity and design where there is a natural overlap between various divergent streams should be explored. Unconventional learning approaches will be essential to create a skilled workforce at scale and groom internal talent for higher roles.

Countries world over are setting up fellowships and grant programs that fund local governments for projects that work towards reducing emissions from industries like data centers.

India too is working with industry partners and technology majors to offer training in Cloud, AI, data science related employment linked skill development programs.

Premium institutes like IIT have come up with online, short term offline and even blended learning programs related to data science, artificial intelligence and business analytics. This is focused on providing job ready programs or skilling programs for fresh graduates.
There is a need to spread awareness among learners about the various online and offline avenues available to them for skills development. Similarly, skill proficiency certifications- public or private, need to have equal weightage if not more as compared to traditional degrees.

The landscape of data centers is evolving as the digital transformation grows. Traditional learning streams might not be able to evolve their curriculum at the pace at which the need will grow and hence it is essential to think differently. Only a sustained model of Industry-Institution-Interface can make revolutionary changes to address the gap in specialised talent pool in Data Center Industry. Various industrial bodies can play pivotal role in making it happen.

The future of India’s data centers is bright, and a well-developed workforce will play a critical role in sustaining this momentum.