Black & White Engineering has committed in recent years to confronting the data centre talent shortage as an evolution, rather than a gap.

Caff Allen, global director of learning and development at Black & White Engineering, explained this transition as a “constant shift”, as skills gaps mean that engineers are faced with continuous change across the wider technology industry.

“Many of the difficulties I see don’t come down to engineering know-how,” she said. “They come from how people work together. Listening properly, planning before acting and being able to pause rather than react immediately are skills that often get lost in the rush of project deadlines.

“In an ‘always-on’ environment, where decisions are made quickly and information is flying around, the ability to slow down and think is becoming more valuable than ever.”

Getting comfortable with technology evolution

The continued AI boom is leading to a broad range of approaches to engineering across the industry. As a result, the data centre industry is having to consider rolling out training programmes to expand its talent pool.

Global staffing demand is expected to reach 2.3 million roles, meaning the skills gap is set to increase by 2030, according to the Uptime Institute.

With newer engineers perhaps being more familiar with AI technologies, others are more likely to engage with more traditional approaches to research.

“Neither approach is wrong. The challenge comes when we don’t find ways to bring those strengths together,” Allen explained. “At Black & White we deliberately put mixed groups into our learning programmes. People from different offices, cultures and generations sit side by side and the conversations that happen in those spaces are often just as important as the content itself.”

She also explained how delivery of learning also matters, arguing the industry has previously heavily relied on e-learning and video modules.

“They are easy to roll out and can be useful, but they don’t go far enough. Watching a video isn’t the same as building a skill,” she said. “Skills come from practice, feedback and discussion. They come from trying something, getting it wrong and adjusting. Without that process, knowledge doesn’t stick.”

Allen explained how Black & White Engineering has put this principle into practice by running management development framework across three levels, starting with ‘learning to lead self’ all the way through to advanced leadership.

This, she added, should involve going beyond managing teams to cover communication, collaboration, self-awareness.

“We also run client experience training, designed to strengthen the way our people build relationships externally,” she added. “On the technical side, our global and regional engineering conferences bring teams together from across regions. Knowledge-sharing becomes an ongoing conversation, not just a resource on a screen.”

Creating powerful learning strategies to fast-track innovation

Another area where Black & White Engineering is supporting skills evolution is via mentoring. This is becoming more common in the industry to pass knowledge on and get more young people engaged with the industry.

Allen explained that they view mentors as someone who has come through the industry themselves and are therefore the most valuable perspective for someone entering the industry for the first time.

“Graduates in our Edinburgh office, for example, have mentored work-experience students because their own experiences were fresh and relevant. The act of teaching also helps those graduates strengthen their own skills, so it’s a two-way benefit,” she said.

“We track both qualitative and quantitative feedback from our programmes and the results speak for themselves. Our internal surveys show improved line management scores since we launched our training and satisfaction ratings across our courses are consistently well above the industry standard. That’s encouraging but the real proof is in how people use what they’ve learned.”

With the technology industry in constant motion, Allen emphasised the importance of looking beyond plugging a single gap or preparing for one singular challenge.

“Technology shifts, client needs change and industry expectations move with them. Learning strategies must reflect that. They need to be flexible, practical and human,” she said.

To achieve this, she suggested prioritising collaboration across the industry, alongside keeping pace with rapid change.

She added: “If we stop framing this as a skills ‘gap’ and start treating it as a skills ‘evolution’, we can take a more honest view of what’s needed.

“Instead of chasing a finish line that doesn’t exist, the focus shifts to continuous development, making sure our people have what they need today and, crucially, are ready to adapt to what comes tomorrow.”

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