Amazon Web Services (AWS) has partnered with the Institute of Technology Tallaght (IT Tallaght) to introduce a new bursary programme that will enable students to learn the necessary skills to train for a career working in data centres.
AWS, a subsidiary of the online giant that was granted planning permission for a new €100 million facility in Dublin earlier this year, said the new programme will train 20 students in the latest cloud technologies, and provide them with the knowledge to be able to install, configure, maintain, secure and repair a data centre’s hardware and networking systems.
During the programme students will have the opportunity to apply for paid internships at AWS’s data centres in Ireland.
The academic credits earned on the Data Centre Technician Programme also form part of IT Tallaght’s BSc IT Management which allows for the students to progress to full professional-level qualification through the Institute’s full-time or lifelong-learning programmes.
"The future of Ireland, and South Dublin region, relies heavily on our continued production of high-quality graduates capable of undertaking life-long learning in a knowledge-based society, and the new Data Center Technical Training Programme is a great example of this," said Thomas Stone, president at IT Tallaght.
“Working with a global cloud leader, such as AWS, will give students in the Tallaght community, and across Dublin, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain 21st century knowledge and the skills needed to secure in-demand jobs, and build a career path for the future,” he added.
An environmentalist recently mounted a legal challenge to the granting of planning permission for AWS’s planned €100 million facility on lands at Cruiserath, Blanchardstown. The new facility will have 12 data server halls.
Investment in the construction of data centres in Ireland is expected reach more than €9 billion by 2021, according to a recent report from produced Host in Ireland in association with Bitpower.