AVK targets AI data center talent gap as academy scales intake capacity
Apprenticeship-style training models aim to convert graduates into deployment-ready talent for rapidly expanding AI infrastructure demand
Engineering courses at universities worldwide are producing a steady stream of graduates, but data center operators are struggling to convert them into deployment-ready talent. As demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure accelerates, companies are rethinking how they attract, train and retain early-career professionals.
This mismatch between the number of available graduates and the skills required by industry has become a defining constraint, particularly in power generation and in critical infrastructure supporting modern data centers.
“It’s an amazing industry with a wide range of skills and opportunities, but we need to make it accessible and ensure the training is there to bring people in at a young age,” said Charlotte Berry-Selwood, Chief Delivery Officer at AVK.
“AVK Academy was basically our solution to the fact that we really couldn’t hire service engineers,” she said. “Trying to hire talent out of the industry was not possible for the scale that we needed.”
The issue reflects a gap between academic training and the hands-on, deployment-ready skills required for data center delivery.
Growing talent
Berry-Selwood spoke to TechJournal.uk in Dublin on March 11 as Pure Data Centres Group (Pure DC) launched Europe’s first large-scale data center microgrid, a 110-megawatt on-site system developed with AVK, to support hyperscale cloud and AI workloads across Europe and the Middle East.
She said companies across the sector have relied on hiring experienced professionals from a limited talent pool rather than investing in long-term workforce development.
AVK, a power solutions provider focused on data center infrastructure with about 350 employees, has begun to shift that model through its internal training programme.
The AVK Academy, launched in 2024 in Kent, combines classroom instruction with hands-on training using real-world equipment, including full-scale power systems. The programme is designed to move trainees from foundational knowledge to operational deployment roles.
The facility is equipped with full-size Rolls-Royce mtu engines and control system rigs, allowing trainees to work on the same technologies used in live data center environments. Courses are aligned with external standards, including City & Guilds certifications, ensuring participants gain recognised qualifications alongside practical experience.
Training follows an apprenticeship-style, work-learning model over roughly two to three years, with participants splitting their time between on-site deployment and formal instruction, gaining technical experience and formal qualifications through external partnerships.
Participants are linked with colleges to ensure their training translates into professional credentials, while also gaining exposure to live projects and operational environments.
Berry-Selwood said the initiative is expanding beyond service engineering into broader disciplines, including engineering, project management, and quantity surveying.
“We will be bringing young people in through a graduate-style scheme and expanding that across different functions,” she said.
She said the model creates multiple career pathways, allowing trainees to remain in service engineering or move into engineering, project delivery, or commercial roles as they gain experience.
At present, the intake remains small. Berry-Selwood said AVK is taking on about three to four people a year through the academy, but wants to increase that as its mentoring capacity and training structure expand.
She said this approach reflects a broader shift in workforce development in a sector that has scaled rapidly but lacks the institutional depth of older industries.
“The expectation that you’re going to invest in people for a number of years before they are productive needs to be understood by businesses,” she said.
Maturity gap
Berry-Selwood described the data center sector as relatively young compared with other industrial segments, noting that it has not yet fully developed the structured graduate pipelines seen in more established fields.
“We’ve existed for about 30 years as an industry, but we still lack maturity in some areas,” she said. “The talent isn’t going to come from a magical pool that we haven’t found yet. It’s only going to come from homegrown investment.”
To support early-career professionals beyond initial training, AVK has backed external initiatives such as GeN+1, a community platform for networking and career development.
As an impact sponsor, the company is working with GeN+1 to expand outreach, promote career awareness, and bridge the gap between education and employment. The initiative focuses on helping young professionals build networks, access mentorship, and better understand progression pathways within the data center sector.
“GeN+1 is for young people who have come into the industry to give them a community space and a networking opportunity,” she said. “Networking is so important as you start out your career.”
The company is also involved in broader outreach efforts to raise awareness of data center careers among students and graduates, including collaborations with schools and industry groups.
Berry-Selwood said improving visibility is critical, as many candidates are unaware of roles across engineering, operations, and commercial functions.
She added that the industry must engage earlier with schools and universities to explain the breadth of opportunities available, including roles that combine technical, operational, and business skill sets, as well as opportunities to work across European markets.
Diversity edge
Beyond talent pipelines, AVK is also focusing on improving diversity within its workforce, particularly in an industry that remains heavily male-dominated.
The company currently has around 10% female representation, above the industry average but still significantly below parity.
“We know statistically that the more women you have on the board, the more profitable your company is likely to be,” Berry-Selwood said. “We are committed to making meaningful change with clear targets that we can actually meet and close the loop on.”
She said AVK is developing a corporate social responsibility framework with measurable diversity targets, aiming to move beyond symbolic commitments and deliver tangible outcomes.
Scaling pressure
Alongside workforce challenges, the rapid expansion of AI-driven data centers is placing new demands on infrastructure delivery, particularly energy systems.
Berry-Selwood said the pace of development is forcing companies to design and build simultaneously, increasing execution complexity.
“The speed to market is incredibly fast, so you’re trying to design and build on the fly, and you are going to run into issues,” she said.
She added that microgrid deployment introduces an additional layer of uncertainty, as projects often lack established templates.
“With microgrids, there isn’t a well-trodden path. We’re having to come up with solutions in real time,” she said.
Despite these challenges, she said early deployments provide valuable learning that can be scaled across future projects, positioning companies to support the next phase of AI infrastructure growth.
As demand for compute capacity rises, she said the industry’s ability to build both infrastructure and human capability will determine how quickly it can scale.
She said long-term investment in people, alongside innovation in energy and delivery models, will be essential to sustaining that growth trajectory.