Intelligent Data Centres Issue 13 | Page 35

FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE Three graduates tell Intelligent Data Centres about making a start in the data centre industry and what this career path means for them. Angela Meah (PhD), Operations Director, coolDC, explores this further and gains insight into how a career in the data centre industry can offer many rewarding benefits. Three graduates and their experiences in the data centre sector I t is no secret that the burgeoning data centre industry is facing a skills shortage. As much of the current workforce edges towards retirement, the industry is not proving a career of choice among young engineers and technicians. However, three recent graduates are hoping to inspire other young people by sharing their data centre journey so far. We hear from three graduates who tell us more. Aminah Hussain, James Green (BSc Computer Studies) and Rebecca Willis (BEng) graduated in the summer of 2019. They were offered three-month internships with a data centre start-up based in Lincoln and went into their final exams knowing that there was a potential career waiting for them. In February 2019, they attended ‘insight’ afternoons hosted by the company. These included a site tour during the construction www.intelligentdatacentres.com of its debut data centre. Although Rebecca previously had no idea about the data centre industry, she applied to the company’s internship programme because of its focus on sustainability as well as its family feel. The concern with sustainability was important to all three graduates and they also report being encouraged by the enthusiastic endorsement of fellow University of Lincoln graduate, Kieran Brown, who had been offered a full- time position with the same company following the completion of his internship just months earlier. Having previously completed an IT apprenticeship, Green was already working part-time in the university’s IT department at the time of application. He was therefore no stranger to the role of data centres in everyday life. “I love the tech behind it and the way in which everything works together. Servers and DCs have always interested me,” said Green. Issue 13 35