Data Centre Job Market 2023
Posted on:
by Mark Prizeman
Data Centre Guidance
After another year of growth in the Data Centre Industry here in Ireland we look back at some of the challenges faced and what to expect for next year.
Challenges Faced, Energy Issues and Importance
Yet again it was another year of scrutiny for the data centre industry here in Ireland with more protests and demands for tighter regulations to be enforced across the 70 data centres located here. Remaining heavily criticised for their high energy usage and being pinpointed for energy issues to surrounding areas across the country it is something that needs to be addressed.
As we discussed last year, an important thing to note regarding these protests and public outcry is that, in order to build a data centre as part of the planning process, the electricity that will be consumed needs to be sourced so each data centre is only consuming the exact amount of energy that has been approved by planning authorities.
What’s currently happening in the market?
Considering how our day to day lives depend so heavily on digital products, and what a data centre plays in that dependence, it is no surprise in how the industry continually grows. For example, anything from online banking, sending emails, using a streaming service like Disney+ or Spotify, or sending a message on WhatsApp, the data from all the actions need to be stored in a data centre and this is why as we head into uncertain times across the IT world data centres shouldn’t see the impact in terms of lay-offs that we are seeing in other areas.
The importance of data centres can’t be understated and I believe we should see the industry continue to grow in Ireland. Currently, with its 70 data centres, Ireland and more specifically Dublin is one of the leading hubs in Europe for data centres, and with plans to build more in the future we should see more continued growth.
Earlier in November, Environment Minister Eamon Ryan addressed some of these issues and stated that the energy usage from data centres is “a short term problem”. With a look to improving and developing offshore wind at scale, we will hopefully alleviate the pressure that the electricity grid currently faces.
It was also very interesting, to me personally, when I attended the Data Centre Ireland expo in Ireland this year to see the work these companies are doing to go green and along with “The Great Refresh” where companies are looking to upgrade older facilities rather than building new ones, it will be another interesting year for the industry.
Future of Data Centre Jobs
We are expecting much of the same for 2023 in terms of the demand for data centre roles. The opportunity still remains very high, there is no shortage of roles from operative levels to more experienced technicians.
One thing that we noticed this year was the skills gap between the number of roles available and the availability in the market for experienced and qualified talent. Again, at the Expo this year one of the main issues highlighted was the lack of talent coming through from a graduate perspective and that data centres aren’t being advertised and highlighted enough as such a rewarding and interesting career path. We see a lot of candidates entering the industry more from a hobbyist background rather than academic one and a push on highlighting the benefit of Computer Science degrees, CompTIA certs etc will be important for anyone looking to enter the industry.
We see that our clients require an extremely high standard to be met with new hires. This makes sense, as the work they do is so critical. To meet these standards, we have seen a high demand for specific qualifications along with relevant experience. These roles can range from anything across an infrastructure perspective like IT, network, Optical Engineers, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers and Project Managers (who oversee it all) along with Data Centre Managers. This does in itself provide challenges ensuring that we are matching only the most relevant talent and introducing them to clients.
Again, 2023 looks like it will be another exciting year for the data centre industry with plenty of twists and turns along the way as it deals with the high demand for top talent and the growing landscape here in Ireland. If you are interested in discussing what we could expect from next year, or looking for a new opportunity for 2023 please get in touch with me at mark.prizeman@gempool.ie.
