Macdonald & Company’s Post

U.S. data center spending hit $40B in H1 2025, a 30% year-over-year increase. With this surge, roles like AI architects, energy engineers, and sustainability managers are commanding premium compensation and becoming harder to fill.     For organizations scaling infrastructure, understanding the talent landscape is critical. Download Motion Recruitment 2026 Tech Salary Guide to explore compensation trends and workforce insights across high-growth tech sectors. 📨: https://ctrly.io/awzJU #MotionSalaryGuide #TechJobTrends #TechHiringTrends #MotionRecruitment 

Europe’s data centre boom isn’t just about infrastructure, it’s about people. As demand for cloud, AI, and digital services accelerates, the sector faces a critical talent shortage. Skilled professionals are the backbone of operational resilience, yet the supply isn’t keeping pace. Our latest resource, Top Skills for Data Centre Jobs in Europe, reveals: • The top skills employers need now • Where to find talent across established and emerging hubs • How transferable expertise from sectors like healthcare, aviation, and energy can close the gap If you’re hiring in the fast-growing digital infrastructure space, download the full resource now. Link in the comments.

GLOBAL DATA CENTER TALENT SHORTAGE - THE HOTTEST MARKET OPPORTUNITY The global data center industry is skyrocketing, fuelled by AI, hyperscale cloud, and rapid digitalization. However, the real pinch point isn't funding or space — it's talent. From engineers to regional directors, the demand far outstrips supply, and few recruitment firms can cater to this highly specialized niche. Key Data Points: - The global data center market was valued at USD 250 billion in 2023, projected to exceed USD 550 billion by 2030. - Hyperscale capacity is expected to double within five years, with new facilities emerging across Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East. - Each 100MW data center requires over 300 specialized professionals during construction and operation. - The industry faces a global shortage of 2 million qualified engineers and technicians by 2027. - Companies are actively seeking trusted recruitment partners who understand data center infrastructure, not generic recruiters. Recruit-i can support the resources required in this industry. Contact Martin Hickson via Martin.hickson@recruit-i.com for more information. #DataCenterJobs #Recruitment #DigitalInfrastructure

GLOBAL DATA CENTER TALENT SHORTAGE - THE HOTTEST MARKET OPPORTUNITY The global data center industry is skyrocketing, fuelled by AI, hyperscale cloud, and rapid digitalization. However, the real pinch point isn't funding or space — it's talent. From engineers to regional directors, the demand far outstrips supply, and few recruitment firms can cater to this highly specialized niche. Key Data Points: - The global data center market was valued at USD 250 billion in 2023, projected to exceed USD 550 billion by 2030. - Hyperscale capacity is expected to double within five years, with new facilities emerging across Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East. - Each 100MW data center requires over 300 specialized professionals during construction and operation. - The industry faces a global shortage of 2 million qualified engineers and technicians by 2027. - Companies are actively seeking trusted recruitment partners who understand data center infrastructure, not generic recruiters. Recruit-i can support the resources required in this industry. Contact Martin Hickson via Martin.hickson@recruit-i.com for more information. #DataCenterJobs #Recruitment #DigitalInfrastructure

Data centers are powering the AI revolution, but scaling the talent to support them is a growing challenge. With costs rising and demand accelerating, consulting clients need a strategic approach to resourcing. Motion Recruitment’s 2026 Tech Salary Guide helps leaders understand market rates, identify cost-saving opportunities, and make informed decisions about when to hire internally and when to engage specialized partners. 📊 Get your copy here: https://hubs.la/Q03QPXdT0 #MotionSalaryGuide #DataCenters #ITConsulting #MCG

Motion Recruitment’s 2026 Tech Salary Guide helps leaders understand market rates, identify cost-saving opportunities, and make informed decisions about when to hire internally and when to engage specialized partners.

💡 Oslo’s data engineering talent shortage - how can we address it? Having spent the past 5 years helping Norwegian companies to grow their data teams, I have seen a growing imbalance between demand and supply for data engineering talent Oslo’s data engineering ecosystem is evolving quickly. I often feel that whether companies meet their data ambitions will depend less on the technology itself, and more on how effectively we grow and retain skilled people 📊 What’s happening now? Over 80% of our Norwegian data roles are based in Oslo Most openings are senior level (5+ years), yet the local talent pool isn’t expanding at the same rate Median time-to-hire sits around 30 days - and even then, many companies struggle to fill key positions (we speak to companies who have positions open for up to 6 months!) In short: demand is outpacing talent growth 🧠 Why this matters Without enough skilled data engineers, organisations can’t fully realise their ambitions in AI, analytics, or cloud transformation. The shortage affects everything from product development to decision-making and innovation capacity. 🔧 How we can bridge the gap Invest in upskilling internally, not just hiring - retrain software engineers and analysts into data engineering roles. Mentorship programs and certification pathways can be faster than external recruitment cycles Strengthen academic–industry collaboration to design practice-oriented courses Widen the geography of talent sourcing - remote and hybrid work policies can open the door to talent beyond Oslo Create clearer career progression for juniors - with two-thirds of openings targeting mid-senior engineers, we risk missing the next generation Promote the mission, not just the stack - in a tight market, the best engineers choose impact. Companies that articulate a strong purpose (sustainability, AI ethics, public value) attract and retain scarce talent 🌍 The takeaway Oslo’s data community has the momentum and opportunity to become a model for sustainable talent growth if we focus on skills development as much as innovation #DataEngineering #OsloTech #TalentShortage #FutureOfWork #DataJobs #SkillsDevelopment

The Data Centre Boom, and the clamour for a piece of the pie. 🥧 The data centre world just keeps expanding, and with it, the number of companies moving into the space. It makes sense. High growth, a critical need for compute, power, cooling, maintenance, real estate… the list goes on. It’s exciting to see manufacturers adapting their products and services to get a slice of the pie, power (pun intended) to them! And it’s not just the manufacturers. I’ve been recruiting in the data centre industry for around 18 months now, and in that time, I’ve built some fantastic relationships with candidates and clients alike. It’s also been fascinating to watch more recruiters, and entire agencies pivot their focus toward this sector, all chasing trying to fill the bottomless talent chasm that only grows deeper, it's tough, but we are trying! Healthy competition is good for everyone (or at least, I hope so!). Just an observation from someone who’s had a front-row seat to the shift. Curious to hear, how are you seeing the data centre boom impact your corner of the industry? #DataCentre #Compute #AI #Tranformation #DecentMeme? #Recruitment

💥Many companies claim to be data-driven, however, when it comes to people, they tend to rely on their intuition. Dana Minbaeva, founder and director of the Human Capital Analytics Group, asserts that the true competitive advantage does not stem from the data itself, but rather from the capacity to transform it into informed decisions regarding people. Human Capital Analytics (HCA) is an organisational capability that rests on three pillars: data quality, analytical competencies and strategic ability to act. So it means that - In the absence of reliable data, it is not possible to make informed decisions - The ability to interpret is dependent on the possession of analytical skills - It is imperative to act on results if we wish to effect change A recent survey by Deloitte, titled Global Human Capital Trends, found that only 8% of companies worldwide currently consider their HCA skills to be "strong". This results in the continued selection, promotion and evaluation of employees based on resumes and first impressions, despite the evidence that cognitive skills and personality traits explain up to 55% of job performance, compared to 2.6% for resumes (Schmidt, Oh & Shaffer, 2016). 👉 Aurora is a platform designed to assist startups and bigger companies in developing this capability in-house. Aurora is not merely a tool for recruiting, but it is a means of transforming data about people into organisational knowledge. It can be used for testing cognitive skills and personality, measuring fit with the team, creating performance benchmarks over time, and highlighting patterns among top performers. We make people shine through a scientific measurement of intra-teams and company culture. #Aurora #hiring #startup #innovation

🚀 What the AI & Data Center Boom Means for Talent in 2026 “The demand curve in digital infrastructure isn’t slowing — but the talent supply still is.” As AI drives massive investment in data centers, the race for skilled talent has reached new heights. Here are three trends I’m seeing across the industry: 1️⃣ Skilled Technician Shortage: Critical facility techs, electricians, and fiber installers remain in short supply as project pipelines expand globally. 2️⃣ Design & Build Talent Surge: The need for experienced engineers, construction managers, and commissioning experts is rising faster than most companies can hire. 3️⃣ Cross-Border Recruitment: Employers are widening their search, tapping into global talent pools to meet deadlines and maintain project velocity. The takeaway? 👉 Start building your workforce strategy 6–9 months before project launch. Waiting until construction begins means you’re already behind. That’s where Kelly Digital Infrastructure (KDI) can help. KDI delivers top-tier engineering and infrastructure talent where you need it — faster and at scale, backed by proven results in the data center space. 📊 Our track record: 9,000+ roles filled in the last 36 months / nearly 2,400 YTD Operations in 80+ U.S. locations and 40+ countries 23-day average time-to-fill, with an industry-leading NPS of 51.9 In 2026, the companies that win won’t just build faster — they’ll hire smarter. #TalentStrategy #DataCenters #AIGrowth #DigitalInfrastructure #RecruitingInsights #KellyServices #WorkforceDevelopment