Latin America. The growth of data centers, driven by the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies, has increased the demand for support talent in the IT industry. Initiatives such as Stargate, in the United States, which allocates 500 billion dollars to AI infrastructure, show how other countries are prioritizing the preparation of specialized personnel.
Talent gap in Latin America
According to the Uptime Institute, the global demand for data center professionals will reach 2.3 million by 2025. In Latin America, the shortage of qualified personnel represents a challenge for digital transformation.
In Colombia, 66% of employers report difficulties finding candidates with adequate technological skills, according to ManpowerGroup's 2024 Talent Shortage Survey. Fedesoft projects that by the end of 2025 the country will have 162,000 unfilled technological vacancies.
Against this backdrop, the public and private sectors in the region are promoting training programs and educational initiatives to prepare talent in strategic areas, including data center operations.
Impact on the IT industry
Francisco Sales, director of services at Vertiv Latin America, said that "from our experience, as leaders in the IT industry, we believe that it is essential to implement solutions that include specific training programs and strategic alliances with universities and technical institutes to promote the training of qualified talent in addition to having training centers developed by Vertiv and that we call Vertiv LATAM Academy."
One of the initiatives in Colombia is Misión TIC, led by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC), which seeks to train 100,000 young people and adults in digital skills.
Sales added that "we know that the demand for tech talent in Colombia continues to grow, especially in critical areas such as support, project management, and digitalization. To foster domestic talent, all institutions—from the private sector to the government to the Vertiv LATAM Academy—must update their education and training policies. This is the only way we can allow business continuity in the country and consolidate Colombia as a benchmark in the region."
Regional perspective
The talent crisis in data centers is presented as a challenge for Latin America. In the case of Colombia, the strengthening of local capacities and the training of human talent is considered a necessary step to advance in the digital transformation and participate competitively in the region's technology sector.
