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Fast-growing AI development will demand a lot more electricians, in the Gulf and elsewhere, and Schneider Electric is looking to fast-track people into careers in the sector. The French firm — which sells server racks, cooling systems, power switches, and the software to run those devices in data centers — already trains 10,000 electricians a year globally and is looking to boost that figure, Devan Pillay, Schneider’s president of heavy industries, told Semafor in an interview. Data centers now account for a quarter of revenues at the company. Nearly half of energy executives in the Gulf surveyed by Schneider said they are looking to fully automate operations in the next five years, suggesting rising demand for AI data centers.
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“If we wait for everybody to go to a training college and do a four-year diploma and all of that, it’s going to be impossible. We’re looking at even those that have skipped this [education] and worked at their uncle’s place,” he said. Schneider’s training center in Johannesburg, for example, is offering internationally recognized certifications in coordination with local authorities. On-the-job experience — rather than formal education — and knowledge on safety and practical theory are enough to earn a certificate, according to Pillay.