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- Engineering transformation: there is an acute shortage of personnel for data centers in the Russian Federation
Engineering transformation: there is an acute shortage of personnel for data centers in the Russian Federation
There is an acute shortage of personnel in Russia for data processing centers (data centers), a key infrastructure for cloud services, applications and artificial intelligence systems, according to the draft roadmap for the development of the industry. The document provides for the development of educational programs and professional standards for the training of specialists. According to market participants, employees who come to the data center often do not understand IT specifics: the industry requires engineers and technicians who simultaneously understand energy, climate systems, construction and information technology. According to experts, the first pilot study programs in Russian universities may be launched as early as 2026-2027.
Which specialists are missing in the data centers
The draft roadmap "Data Processing Center" (DPC), prepared by the Analytical Center under the Government, provides for the inclusion in the lists of secondary and higher education specialties required to work in data centers. Izvestia has reviewed the document.
It also talks about the development of professional standards for areas that "combine competencies from related industries for the operation of a data center." The authors of the document note that the shortage of personnel remains one of the key problems of the industry, while a significant part of the specialists come to it with a different basic education, moving from related fields.
A data processing center (DPC) is a specialized facility or infrastructure complex designed to house, operate, and protect critical IT equipment, server, and network equipment. A data center is also called a data center. The main task is to ensure the smooth operation of Internet services, enterprise applications, cloud technologies and other IT systems.
"Specialists from related fields are involved in the construction and operation of the data center. At the same time, there is a shortage of specialists with comprehensive expertise in key technologies used in such facilities. It is even more difficult to attract specialists in geographically remote places with a surplus of energy," the document says.
According to the authors of the initiative, the introduction of training programs for specialists in the construction and operation of data centers in higher, secondary and specialized educational institutions will improve the situation on the labor market and simplify the recruitment of specialized personnel directly to the regions where such facilities are located.
— The initiative is timely, it is conditioned by the dynamic development of the country's digital infrastructure. Data centers are key elements of the functioning of government information systems, digital services, financial infrastructure, as well as platforms for the development of artificial intelligence technologies and big data processing, the Ministry of Finance told Izvestia.
As part of this initiative, the possibility of improving the educational training of personnel for the industry is being considered, including the introduction of relevant areas in the lists of specialties of higher and secondary vocational education, they said. The issue of forming a specialized code for an educational specialty is being considered separately, the ministry added.
Izvestia also sent requests to other relevant departments and to the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko, who oversees the development of the IT industry.
According to Dmitry Vysokogorsky, NTI expert on promising and new energy sources, several areas are currently being worked out as part of systematic personnel training. Among them is the launch of specialized educational tracks in technical universities in the areas of energy, climate systems and IT infrastructure, as well as additional vocational education and retraining programs for existing engineers.
Special attention is paid to the formation of industry standards of competence in cooperation with the largest data center operators. According to the expert, the first pilot educational programs can be launched as early as 2026-2027.
The data center market in Russia is showing double-digit growth rates against the background of business digitalization, the development of cloud services and data localization requirements, Dmitry Vysokogorsky added. At the same time, the personnel base was formed fragmentarily, mainly due to specialists from related IT and engineering fields, without specialized training for the tasks of data centers. The expert noted that the shortage of personnel in the data center industry is quite specific.
— We are not talking about programmers or IT specialists in the broadest sense - the market is coping with this. The problem lies with engineers who understand the physical infrastructure of a data center: power supply systems, uninterruptible power supplies, precision cooling, and utility networks. These are people at the junction of electrical engineering, mechanics and IT, and there are few such specialists on the market," he says.
Separately, according to him, we are talking about operational personnel: data centers work around the clock, therefore, operators, engineers on duty and maintenance specialists are needed for their smooth functioning. There is also a shortage of personnel capable of designing data centers from scratch, taking into account modern requirements for energy efficiency, equipment density and scalability, the expert added.
Dmitry Panyshev, Director of Government Relations at RTK-TSOD, also knows that the initiative to train specialists for data centers is being discussed at the Government Analytical Center. According to him, such personnel should have universal competencies, understand various equipment and technologies, but today there is virtually no such training.
The most scarce specialists are design engineers and operational engineers of uninterruptible power supply systems, precision cooling and ventilation engineers, qualified installers, electricians and general staff with specific experience in critical information infrastructure facilities, said Timofey Voronin, Project Manager at Intelligent Analytics, TechNet market expert. Specialists in integrated data center management (Facility Managers), system architects, network engineers and other employees are also in demand, he said.
What requirements should a data center specialist meet?
In Russia, there is not only a shortage of specialists for data centers - officials and IT market participants have been talking about a shortage of personnel for years. German Gref, Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank, previously stated that by 2030 it would amount to 1 million specialists. As of 2024, the shortage numbered 500-700 thousand people, the Ministry of Finance estimated earlier.
Data centers are the drivers of the digital economy and one of the building blocks of technological sovereignty and facts confirming the potential of the state in global competitiveness. Cloud services, artificial intelligence, mobile applications, urban and government digital services cannot work without them, said Alkhas Mirzabekov, CEO of the operator of the ESC. The demand for these IT products and services is very high - even small communications companies are building data centers now, he added.
At the same time, the expert emphasized, very high-level and highly responsible specialists are required for the construction and operation of data centers. Their work is associated with risks in the field of physical security due to the use of significant energy capacities, as well as with the tasks of cybersecurity and the protection of personal data of citizens, companies and government agencies, which, according to him, form the basis of the sustainability of any country.
— We need system administrators, software-savvy professionals and employees of many other specialties, combined with high demands on personal responsibility. Now their training programs are organized on the basis of universities by large technology and IT companies, but a comprehensive public-private approach is needed for systematic training, as this is a matter for the national security of any country," Alkhas Mirzabekov believes.
VTB regularly conducts specialized training programs with the involvement of internal and external experts on new technologies in key areas for data centers, the bank's press service noted.
"There are also a number of initiatives under development that may include specific proposals for systematic training," they added.
The training of such personnel is conducted mainly on a point-by-point basis, through separate courses and internal training, therefore, a systematic educational program for data centers would be in great demand, said Alexander Tishkin, head of the MTS data center services center.
Today, young professionals who come to work in data centers usually receive a mentor, because a data center is a complex engineering structure with a variety of equipment, which requires qualified support from engineers and technicians," said Dmitry Panyshev.
— We hope that this year the expert community will come to a common understanding of the need to prepare standards and specialization of training, — he noted, specifying that this is not a mass segment of employment.
According to the expert, in a number of the largest technical universities in Russia, the launch of new specialist training programs for the industry can be expected as early as 2027-2028.
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