As part of its campaign to address the ongoing skills shortage in the data centre and cloud industry, HireHigher, last week brought together Rising Stars within the industry and 60 sixth form students from two London schools (Logic School and St Marks) in a productive day of workshops and a tour of CyrusOne’s datacentres.

The students heard about the central role that Data Centres play in everyone’s lives today. A panel of seven industry Rising Stars talked about their varied jobs and paths into the industry – from graduate schemes to apprenticeships. They also participated in two practical workshops, the first looking at how their particular style of energy can impact others and potentially help them identify a rewarding career path – led by The Young People Index®. They then worked through a typical career assessment scenario to give them an idea of the types of questions and activities they will face when applying for jobs.

Adelle Desouza, Founder, HireHigher comments, “The students asked so many pertinent questions and really lit up doing the practical tasks. The datacentre tour was eye opening for so many of them, watching their reactions and hearing their follow up questions when it came to power consumption, green solutions and financial investment really did bring it home for them. I want to see more talented people enter our industry and this is just the beginning, I hope, of many such events. It was great to witness one student ask a Rising Star for their contact details so they could continue their dialogue about career opportunities – the programme is already making a difference.

“If the industry is really serious about hiring the best talent, we need to light a fire in more bellies. The event sparked so much conversation, now we just need more companies to invest in the programme,” says Desouza.

Steve Hone, CEO, The Data Centre Alliance, comments, “I am immensely proud to have been at the latest Rising Star Programme event in West London. In a world full of click bait and sound bites it was fantastic to see some action directed to resolving the skills shortage in the Data Centre sector! Adelle Desouza’s vision was an incredibly inspiring and exciting reality!

“The challenge is now to build on this success and replicate the event in other schools and colleges around the UK. There is a lot of work to do but today was a notable example of what the sector can do if they work together,” says Hone.

Steve Hayward, VP European Operations, CyrusOne says, “We feel truly privileged to have had the opportunity to open up our data centres to this remarkable group of students and their teachers. We get as much out of our interaction with students as they do from us - their bright young minds will shape the future of our industry - it’s essential we listen and learn from them. We very much look forward to supporting the Rising Stars on future projects.”

Nathan Ott, Chief Polisher at the GC Index and Co-Creator of The Young People Index®, says, “We have a fundamental belief that everyone can make an impact in their world. The Young People Index® provides schools, colleges, youth organisations and young people themselves with access to data they have never had before. This enables them to make more informed decisions about their future. We have seen it liberate young people to make a positive impact in their world.”

Talking about the morning’s workshops and panel, Mary Wade, Head of Year 12, St Mark’s School comments, “Students gained a real insight into personalities in the workplace and how it affects team dynamics. The students were exposed to young professionals who had varied pathways into their career and were encouraged and educated about a variety of careers in the industry.”