Future of Data Centres in APAC: Skills, Hiring Trends and Workforce Challenges

Key Takeaways: 

• APAC’s data centre capacity is set to more than double to around 30GW by 2027-28: Major projects like Bitdeer’s 500MW facility in Bhutan and Huawei’s 200MW Global Yun Data Centre demonstrate the scale of regional expansion.
• The data centre workforce shortage is severe: Nearly two-thirds of operators struggle to find and retain qualified candidates, driven by misaligned education systems, regional ‘brain drain’ to mature hubs and rapid technological advancements that outpace traditional training.
• There are several solutions to APAC’s data centre workforce challenges: Skills-based hiring recognises transferable experience from other sectors. Cross-border mobility is important when deploying talent across APAC markets. Phased workforce planning aligns staffing levels to specific project phases. Finally, staff retention measures include clear career progression pathways, continuous professional development and internal development programmes.
• NES Fircroft is the ideal data centre recruitment agency partner: We help operators to attract and retain the scarce, high-calibre talent needed for APAC’s data centres. This includes our region- and sector-specific knowledge and networks, alongside EOR services.

The Asia-Pacific data centre industry is booming. In the first half of 2025, regional capacity climbed to 12.7GW and it’s projected to grow to around 30GW by 2027/28. This represents a major effort to build the digital infrastructure that will support AI, cloud computing and the broader digital economy for decades to come. 

As a result, APAC is forecast to overtake the United States as the largest colocation data centre market by both capacity and rental revenue before 2030.

But behind these impressive forecasts, there is a workforce challenge that threatens to constrain growth across the sector.

The Scale of APAC’s Data Centre Expansion

Large-scale data centre projects in APAC are redefining what is possible in the region. For example, Bitdeer’s 500MW Bitcoin-mining data centre in Jigmeling, Bhutan, is the largest in South Asia. The facility represents one of the company’s largest global deployments and demonstrates the renewable energy focus driving regional development. 

Meanwhile, Huawei’s 200MW Global Yun Data Centre in China started operations in December 2020 and is designed to eventually host one million servers.

With 3.2GW of data centre capacity under construction and a further 13.3GW in planning stages, these mega-projects and many others like them clearly indicate strong investor confidence. 

But the implications for data centre recruitment are significant. Each megawatt of capacity requires skilled professionals across electrical, mechanical, commissioning and operations disciplines – and the region’s talent pipelines are struggling to keep pace.

Understanding the Data Centre Talent Shortage

According to a 2025 survey by the Uptime Institute, nearly two-thirds of operators reported difficulty finding or retaining qualified talent. Staff retention is a particular issue because poaching of staff from competitors is widespread in the industry.

This data centre workforce challenge manifests differently across the sector, with construction facing particularly acute recruitment pressures. The sector requires operations management specialists, as well as electrical and mechanical engineers. 

More specifically, in-demand candidates are those who understand mission-critical infrastructure, high-voltage electrical systems, sophisticated cooling technologies and the precise commissioning sequences that protect uptime. These are very specific skill sets that can’t be rapidly acquired.

Three structural factors are driving the shortage:

• Misaligned training and education systems – Traditional educational pathways haven’t adapted to data centre-specific competencies, leaving operators to build their own training programmes from scratch.
• Regional ‘brain drain’ – Mature hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong, with competitive salaries and advanced infrastructure, attract talent from emerging markets. This intensifies data centre workforce challenges in precisely those countries experiencing the fastest capacity growth.
• Technology acceleration – The skills that were essential three years ago may already be insufficient for today’s AI-optimised facilities. This creates a moving target for workforce development that traditional training struggles to track.

Strategic Solutions to Data Centre Workforce Challenges

Addressing this talent shortage requires co-ordinated action across recruitment strategy, workforce development, organisational design, and training and education. 

1. Skills-Based Hiring

This approach prioritises a candidate’s skills and competencies over traditional credentials, such as previous job titles. By recognising adjacent – and relevant – experience in this way, it opens up a much larger talent pool than focusing only on existing data centre workers.

Professionals from manufacturing, construction or utilities may possess transferable skills in electrical systems, SCADA platforms or regulatory compliance knowledge. 

The key to successful recruitment is rigorous assessment and evaluation of these skills.

2. Cross-Border Mobility Solutions

Given regional talent imbalances, operators are needing to think beyond local hiring. Emerging markets offer lower attrition rates but smaller candidate pools; mature hubs provide deep expertise but intense competition. 

The solution lies in cross-border mobility solutions, such as EOR services, to deploy talent where it’s needed while also managing the associated regulatory complexity.

Cross-border deployment in APAC demands expertise in varied licensing regimes, workpermit processes and compliance frameworks. Each country maintains distinct requirements for electrical qualifications, safety certifications and professional registrations. Operators who can manage this complexity gain access to talent that competitors cannot reach.

3. Phased Workforce Planning

Data centre construction and operations do not require uniform staffing levels – each phase needs carefully choreographed deployment of staff. 

Effective workforce planning maps these phases explicitly, scaling teams to match milestones. This phased approach reduces costs, improves resource utilisation, and enables operators to deploy scarce specialist talent precisely when and where it’s needed most.

4. Retention Strategies

Financial compensation alone is now rarely sufficient. The most effective retention strategies address what salary cannot: career stagnation, limited recognition and disconnection from purpose.

Data centre operators with lower attrition rates share several characteristics. They demonstrate clear progression pathways – from construction roles into commissioning, operations or technical management. Plus, they invest in continuous professional development programmes that keep pace with technological change. 

The emerging generation of data centre talent also seeks roles aligned with their environmental, social and governance (ESG) values. So, operators who can demonstrate their ESG commitments and genuine investment in workforce development gain a competitive advantage in both recruitment and retention.

5. Internal Development

Companies are increasingly upskilling their teams in emerging technologies, ensuring that talent remains up to date with new industry innovations while reducing recruitment costs.

The business case is compelling. Overall, internal development programmes typically cost less than external hiring, while also delivering greater loyalty and retention. For data centre recruitment, this might involve cross-training mechanical engineers on electrical systems, or developing project co-ordinators into commissioning specialists.

The most successful programmes combine three elements: structured learning pathways with clear competency milestones, hands-on exposure through rotational assignments and mentorship from experienced colleagues. This approach accelerates capability development beyond what classroom training alone can achieve.

6. Training and Education

Finally, better collaboration between employers and educational institutions is needed to ensure that syllabuses complement the needs of a modern data centre. The creation of advisory boards will help academic programmes keep up to date with technological developments, while partnerships will offer students a clear route into the industry via placements and apprenticeships. 

NES Fircroft: Expertise in Data Centre Recruitment

At NES Fircroft, we are a specialist data centre recruitment agency, tackling the sector’s talent challenges through six integrated service pillars:

1. Talent Certainty for Mission-Critical Infrastructure

We secure the specialist, DC-experienced talent required to protect uptime, accelerate MW delivery and ensure safe, compliant operations across the full data centre lifecycle.

2. Competitive Advantage in Scarce Talent Markets

We help hyperscalers, asset owners and delivery partners to attract and engage rare, passive and highly specialised DC professionals.

3. Deep Assessment Built for Uptime and Risk Mitigation

Our assessment goes beyond CVs – we evaluate operational readiness, commissioning exposure and risk tolerance to ensure that hires can perform in high-stakes environments without compromising quality.

4. Workforce Strategies Aligned to MW-Based Delivery

From design through to 24/7 operations, we build phased workforce plans that scale with modular builds, campus expansion, commissioning milestones and steady-state operations.

5. APAC Compliance, Licensing and Mobility Expertise

We support complex APAC regulatory landscapes, local licensing and cross-border mobilisation to ensure talent arrives fast, legally and fully compliant.

6. Embedded Partner Within the Global DC Ecosystem

We operate as a strategic partner – not a generalist recruiter – with deep sector networks and access to passive talent across electrical, mechanical, commissioning, controls and operations.

Get in touch

From greenfield construction to 24/7 operations, we secure, assess and deploy scarce specialist talent. Designed for operators at all scales, our lifecycle workforce solutions combine deep sector expertise, phased MW-aligned planning and APAC compliance capabilities to ensure data centres go live on time – and stay live.

Contact us to discuss your data centre recruitment needs and discover how we can help you succeed in this demanding sector.

FAQs

Why is APAC facing a data centre talent shortage?

APAC’s talent shortage stems from the rapid expansion of data centre capacity outpacing workforce development. Educational systems haven’t adapted to produce data centre-specific skills at the required scale, while ‘brain drain’ from emerging markets to mature hubs intensifies competition for qualified professionals. 

Which skills and roles are most in demand for data centre construction and operations?

During construction, demand is highest for electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, commissioning specialists and project managers. For operations, facilities managers, control systems engineers, network specialists and technical operations leads remain difficult to recruit. 

How can I attract and retain data centre talent in the APAC market?

Implement skills-based hiring that assesses practical competencies rather than credentials alone. Consider cross-border mobility to access talent in emerging markets, while also building phased workforce plans that deploy specialists strategically across project milestones.

Also, develop clear progression pathways, invest in continuous professional development programmes, articulate your ESG commitments and invest in internal development programmes. 

How is AI changing data centre workforce needs?

AI workloads require substantially higher power density, advanced cooling technologies and different facility designs than traditional computing. Beyond technical skills, AI is accelerating the pace of change itself, making continuous learning and adaptability increasingly important attributes. 

What support can NES Fircroft provide to data centre projects in APAC?

Here at NES Fircroft, we help support data centre recruitment of the scarce, high-calibre talent in APAC that underpins uptime, scalability and long-term performance. This includes our region- and sector-specific knowledge and networks, alongside EOR services.