Data Center Sector Opens Doors for Non-Traditional Career Seekers
The data center sector is experiencing rapid growth and a significant workforce shortage, with 50% of operators struggling to fill open roles. In this episode of Straight Outta Crumpton, host Greg Crumpton speaks with Tiffany Kovaleski of Overwatch about her non-traditional path into the industry and the importance of attracting diverse talent. The conversation highlights how relationship-building, adaptability, and expanded educational pathways can help close the data center talent gap.
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Key takeaways
50% of data center operators report difficulty filling open roles, with shortages projected to persist for a decade.
Non-traditional backgrounds — including cosmetology, event production, and trades — can translate successfully into data center careers.
Expanding STEM and trades education, veteran pathways, and community networks are key to building the future data center workforce.
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The data center sector is expanding rapidly, driven by increasing digital demands across sectors. As this growth accelerates, data centers face a workforce shortage, with projections showing the shortage could persist for the next decade. According to a 2023 report by Uptime Institute, 50% of data center operators report difficulties filling open roles. This shortage highlights the need to attract talent from diverse backgrounds to maintain the infrastructure that underpins our digital world.
This shortage highlights the need to attract talent from diverse backgrounds to maintain the infrastructure that underpins our digital world.
How can the data center industry attract talent from varied fields, and what opportunities does it hold for those seeking non-traditional career paths?
In this episode of Straight Outta Crumpton, host Greg Crumpton talks with Tiffany Kovaleski, Global Account Manager at Overwatch, about her unconventional path to the data center sector. Tiffany discusses how building relationships, adaptability, and leveraging her diverse background have enabled her success in a field traditionally dominated by technical backgrounds.
Key Points from the Episode
- Career Transformation and Resilience: Tiffany shared her journey from an unconventional background in cosmetology and event production to her current role in the data center industry, emphasizing resilience, adaptability, and the value of relationships in navigating career transitions.
- Promoting the Data Center Industry and Trades: Tiffany discussed the growing opportunities in the data center industry and advocated for increased awareness and pathways for people from all backgrounds, including veterans, tradespeople, and young students. She highlighted the need for more educational programs and legislation to build the workforce pipeline, particularly in STEM and trades.
- The Importance of Community and Support Networks: Tiffany underscored the importance of building strong personal and professional relationships. She spoke about how her network supported her during challenging times and encouraged others to foster connections and have open conversations about mental health and support.
Tiffany Kovaleski is an accomplished global operations and strategy leader, with over 15 years of experience in business development, operations, and community building. As the founder and CEO of Kōvent, she created a platform connecting entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors in the technology space. Currently, as Global Account Manager at Overwatch, she leverages her expertise to manage key client relationships and deliver strategic value within the data center industry.
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About the author
Straight Outta Crumpton Greg's personal & professional goals are to serve the people that he am working with and/or for. He carries this mantra in his professional life and his home life. Having 40+ years as a full-service mechanical and mission critical environments contractor with a heavy emphasis on service, maintenance and repair. Greg specialize in mission critical cooling (Heat Rejection) and electrical infrastructures, as well as the comfort cooling surrounding them. As a continual entrepreneur, several markets strike him as interesting. As varied as you could imagine, they range from Coffee with my bud's at www.CommonPlaceCoffee.com, all the way to serving as an adviser for several start-ups in the emerging technology world via www.aGlobalVenture.com & www.AtomPower.com and others. Giving back to his community is of equal importance to him, www.apparo.org and Animal Welfare are just a couple ways of doing just that.
