Casting the nets into the deep

For some years, the data centre industry spoke about talent shortage. Kenneth Brill, the founder of Uptime Institute, spoke about it more than a decade ago. The same was highlighted in the results of the data centre industry survey conducted in 2019 by the Uptime Institute.

In a recent report (published by Vertiv) where more than 800 data centre professionals were surveyed, it was suggested that 16% of the global data centre workforce would be retired by 2025 (the figures would be as high as 33% for US & Canada and China had the lowest projected figures at 8%)

And why should we care? Well, the internet lives in data centres. Or technically, the internet runs on servers that live in data centres, and data centres need a lot of human attention to run reliably. This is the same internet that powers how we live, move, work and have our digital identities

We usually don't think about data centres until one stops working and takes down the internet or the nation's infrastructures and emergency services (such as hospitals, trains and airports), along with our means to communicate with each other or to find out whats happening

To alleviate these concerns, there are ongoing efforts to look at how we can simplify operations, preserve institutional knowledge and enable (perhaps even automate) predictive and efficient maintenance, so as to reduce our reliance on human personnel. But so far, most of these efforts have not borne fruit

The Infrastructure Masons, a data centre industry group, has also come out to share some points, including the mismatch of skill sets of the people who get pushed out of the workforce and the skill sets required for the new jobs. It is noteworthy that the Infrastructure Masons set up a scholarship fund to help bridge the talent gap

The debate is ongoing as to how technology may outpace the industry and inevitable changes may come where new skills are required and this could hamper the ability of data centres to sustain or support the increasingly complex needs of its customers (and in turn the digital economy)

When we talk about talent shortage, it is really about how can we assess  
(a) what is the current talent landscape, in terms of the breadth and depth of skills needed by the industry (in lieu of current and future trends), 
and where we stand in terms of these gaps 
(b) do we have adequate pipeline of talents, and are we going to have too little or too much 
(c) how are we going to groom this pipeline of talent for current and future needs 
(d) how are we going to recruit them 
(e) how are we going to equip them adequately for their roles and 
(f) how are we going to retain them and provide acceptable career progression pathways

While the matter of human talent is a complex matter with no simple answers, but I'd like to add to the conversation with some thoughts from the lens of a star-wars fan, and will end with a call to action

A GOOD JEDI NEEDS TO PUT ASIDE HIS PRECONCEIVED IDEAS

You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view - obi wan

If there is anything I learned from design thinking it is that we need to stop thinking that there is only one way to get things done. Just because we have done the same for years does not mean there are no better ways to get things done.

And I would like to suggest that the human talent gap (if there is really a talent gap) is primarily a human problem. This means we need to recognize that data centre practitioners (for lack of a better term) have diverse circumstances, needs and aspirations, which leads to the next point

NO ONE JEDI OWNS THE FORCE

So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view  - obi wan

Once we acknowledge that there are diverse stakeholders who contribute both to the problem and to the solution, we can conclude that the best way forward is to mobilize and engage the different stakeholders. Because what is true for one operator may not be true for another, just as what works well for aspiring undergraduates may not coincide with what hirers want

To develop a game plan that is desirable from a human point of view, that coincides with what is both technologically and economically viable, we need to learn to put people in the centre of the conversation

This necessitates observation, interaction, and immersion, of a sufficiently large sample size of persons (those who aspire to join the industry, those who are in the industry, including recruiters and management), so that the conversation is not skewed.

We would also need to extend the conversation to outside the four walls of our corporate offices, and to reach out to other people that make up (and will make up the ecosystem), including students in schools, where we will get our talent pipeline

This is only possible if we have a community of well-coordinated volunteers or workers taking the time and effort to observe, to interact, to interview and study the behaviors and motivations of the people that make up this industry (including those who will eventually join the industry), so as to glean actionable insights that may give rise to a practical game plan

HOW DOES ONE BECOME A JEDI MASTER

A recent article shared how the Economic Development Board (EDB), a statutory board of the Government of Singapore, is courting JEDI Master companies to invest in Singapore, in hopes that these companies would, in turn, transfer deep engineering know-how to the local talent, and in doing so, elevate Singapore into a global tech hub

While there is merit in the rationale, I would suggest that while fundamentals could be easily taught, mastery cannot be taught, cannot be guaranteed and, for some, takes a life time of devotion and skill

WOULD YOU LIGHT A LAMP ONLY TO HIDE IT UNDER THE BED?

I have ambitious plans for a data centre & cloud boot camp for tertiary students taking place early next year in Singapore, for the purpose of industry awareness, to equip the students with some basic understanding of what data centres are (including career guidance tips), and to use the boot camp as a means to solicit feedback on what help they would need (if they have interest to join the industry).

And I hope this will, in turn, spur interest in more candidates which will one day join the industry, give some guidance to these candidates, and (through the insights gleaned from the surveys) help formulate a more effective game plan to tackle the talent gaps

But we need to do this, to cast the nets out to a wide audience of tertiary students, and for that, we will first need a community of willing volunteers to contribute in various ways

As a volunteer, you don't have to be technical. You do not even need to be from the industry. But if you are available and have the heart to contribute your time to help out, I hope you will consider joining the team of volunteers (we need different types of talent, including co-ordination, hustling with benefactors, or even branding and marketing support leading up to the bootcamp).

And I think the greatest reward to our volunteers would be knowing that you made a difference and that your talents will grow as you exercise them for a good cause

Aside to my friends, I do not know if I can get enough momentum to make the boot camp work, or if it will achieve its intended objectives

But as Elon Mask aptly puts it, when something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor

Pass on what you have learned... Failure, most of all. 
The greatest teacher, failure is.. We are what they grow beyond. 
That is the true burden of all masters - Yoda