April 25, 2022. Representatives of the Fundación Estatal para la Formación de Empleo (FUNDAE) and the DigitalES association visited on Friday the data processing center at Kyndryl in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid), as part of its action plan for the design and implementation of a training plan for specialists in critical infrastructures such as data centers. On the basis of these visits, qualifications and training programs will be defined to help reduce the shortage of specialists that the market is experiencing, through the “Data Center Training School”.

“This data center is where our customers’ journey to the cloud takes place,” says Luis Carlos Ferrutz, Kyndryl’s data center manager. “That’s why the profiles of our specialists must be technical, computer specialists, since they must understand that any of their actions in the data center are of vital importance for the continuity of our customers’ operations and the service to their own customers.”

The shortage of certain professional profiles is one of the great challenges facing the technology sector in Spain. Digitalization is growing at a faster rate than the availability of this type of infrastructure, so the construction of new centers will be a constant in the coming years. Thus, the total volume of the market in Spain is expected to increase sixfold, from the current 87MW to 500MW, with the creation of between 8,000 and 10,000 jobs in 5 years.

The Community of Madrid, specifically, is a key target for operators and investors, due to the scarce supply of data centers of level 3 or higher and the excellent connectivity of the capital city. Madrid completed the construction of 4 data centers in 2021, with an investment of more than 400 million euros. Over the next 5 years, CAM is expected to receive an investment of 680 million, with the creation of 2,400 jobs.

In this context, in 2021, DigitalES contacted the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) and FUNDAE (State Foundation for Employment Training) for the design and implementation of a strategic training plan for critical infrastructure technicians such as data centers. Months later, the future “Data Center Training School” is taking shape.

The plan is to carry out, in a first phase, a theoretical and practical virtual training for 75 participants. In a second phase, a face-to-face training program would be launched in those companies that participate in FUNDAE’s ‘Hiring Commitments’ call, focused on hiring the unemployed. The School will start with training for two specialties, CPD services technician and CPD infrastructure technician, and will later incorporate training in new qualifications related to the cloud. It is precisely in this area where this morning’s visit is framed.

“Spain has the opportunity to take advantage of its privileged geographical location, among other factors, to consolidate itself as a hub of interconnection between continents. But this will largely depend on whether we are able to respond to the demand for talent in this sector of activity,” concludes Javier Miranda, Training and Employment consultant at DigitalES.