INDUSTRY WATCH
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Government regulation may occur in the
future, as public awareness focuses more
on connectivity, I believe the penny will
drop soon within government, and as an
industry we would be in a far stronger
position if we already have effective self-
regulation in place.
the new and emerging technologies and this
will, in turn, benefit the organisation.
Can you outline the alliance with
CBRE and the advantages this
will bring?
This is another big industry first for CNet
Training and we are delighted to be part
of such a huge global commitment to
education and professional development
with CBRE Data Centre Solutions.
How can this risk be reduced
by having professionally
certified teams?
Every business claims that its people
are their most important asset and the
primary driver of success. But, how
many organisations genuinely have
a structured investment programme
in training and on-going education
for mission-critical people? People are
the very lifeblood of any business and
organisations need to understand this in
order to continue to thrive.
The business case to invest in on-
going professional development and
certification for existing teams is strong.
By harnessing current skills and embarking
on a structured approach to career
development, in the form of new learning
and skills development enhanced by
professional qualifications and industry
recognised certification, data centre
managers can be confident that the data
centre is in the right technical hands. They
will also benefit from:
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Increased quality of service to clients
Increased confidence in your teams
Increased competitive advantage
Reduced people related risk
Staff retention and loyalty
Enhanced employee satisfaction and
increased morale
• Increased employee contributions
due to the added confidence and new
skills after training
• Training/certification return
on investment
The organisation would also prove to be
a more attractive employer to potential
new staff. This competitive edge could
allow the organisation to be confident
and therefore help attract the highest
calibre talent.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Andrew Stevens, President and CEO,
CNet Training
How would you describe current
attitudes towards ongoing education?
Attitudes vary on this one. For example,
in the Middle East we have found that
industry professionals are proud of their
achievements and really value their
certificates. In the U.S. there seems to be a
culture of life-long learning, where it is the
norm to continue to enhance knowledge,
skills and professional certifications. By
contrast, within the UK, the request for
training or education is often seen as a
weakness, whereby instead of seeing the
positivity of the outcomes of new learning, it
is looked upon negatively as having to fill the
gap when skills and knowledge are lacking.
However generally, I think the industry is
listening, but I think there is still a lot of work
to be done to ensure companies understand
what a qualification is and how they differ to
certifications. More importantly, is that there
is still a lack of understanding surrounding
the benefits that a skilled, knowledgeable
and well-trained workforce will bring to an
organisation, it can drive profit and it can go
straight to the bottom line.
Why is ongoing technical
development so crucial?
Within fast-moving technical environments,
such as the data centre industry, there
is a need to adopt a positive attitude
towards training and on-going professional
development. Only then will professionals
have the opportunity to learn how to embrace
CBRE has committed to certifying 100%
of its global technical workforce. Through
a strategic alliance with CNet, we will work
together to deliver a comprehensive training
and development programme that requires
each data centre technician to achieve
the highly respected Certified Data Centre
Technician Professional (CDCTP) certification
and therefore help to be recognised as the
most skilled and knowledgeable data centre
technical team in the world.
CBRE already has an exceptional global
team and a solid reputation for nurturing
and progressing staff, and this commitment
to official certification has raised the bar
even further. I believe no other organisation
has committed to demonstrating that
their data centre technicians are the best
in the world and proving it with 100%
CDCTP certification. We forecast that the
project will take two years to complete,
it’s a monumental project and one we are
delighted to be part of.
CBRE are leading the way by ensuring that
they are nurturing and encouraging its entire
technical team to progress within the industry.
This is a move away from most companies
who tend to select just a few throughout their
team to invest in and put through education
and development programmes to gain
certification and qualifications.
This commitment from CBRE give its staff
the personal and progression development
to enhance their career and make them
stand out from the rest. This puts CBRE in
a very strong position, they will continue to
lead the way in data centre management
and operational excellence and challenge
the rest of the industry to step up. n
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