The race to build the future of artificial intelligence is often measured in megawatts, billion-dollar investments, and hyperscale infrastructure.

But according to industry leaders, the most critical foundation of the AI era isn’t concrete, cooling systems, or compute capacity. It is people.

As governments and companies across the Middle East accelerate investment in digital infrastructure, a global shortage of skilled professionals is emerging as a major constraint for the sector. For an industry that sits at the core of healthcare, education, cloud computing, and AI, the implications are significant.

“There’s very little we do on a day-to-day basis that isn’t affected by having good access to the internet,” says Lizabeth Hood, Global Head of Education and Membership at IDCA. “The moment a data center goes down, everything stops, and people immediately notice. These people who work in these facilities are now critical to how we live.”

The challenge is only becoming more urgent.

As AI adoption accelerates, demand for digital infrastructure is rising sharply. Yet while new facilities continue to be built globally, the talent required to design, operate, and maintain them is not keeping pace.

“We’re looking at a future where significantly more people will need to work in IT-related roles to support what’s coming,” Hood explains. “It’s not necessarily about teaching entirely new skills. It’s about continuing to train people in the skills that this industry needs and helping people see this as a career path worth pursuing.”

THE TALENT GAP THREATENING THE AI BOOM

For all the excitement surrounding AI, cloud computing, and digital transformation, the industry’s biggest bottleneck may not be technology. It may be people.

As demand scales, companies are under pressure to find engineers, technicians, and operators capable of managing increasingly complex environments. The challenge is especially sharp in emerging markets, where much of the future demand will be concentrated.

For Khazna Data Centers, solving that challenge has become a strategic priority.

“Khazna’s success didn’t happen by coincidence, and it didn’t happen just because of the megawatts we make available to customers,” says Gabriella Planojevic, Learning and Talent Management Director at Khazna Data Centers. “It is really down to the people behind all of that—their passion, creativity, commitment, and collaboration.”

That belief has fundamentally shaped the company’s approach to growth.

BUILDING TALENT INSTEAD OF COMPETING FOR IT

Rather than competing for a limited talent pool, Khazna is focused on building its own.

At the center of this effort is the Thuraya Program, a graduate initiative designed to develop future data center professionals.

“Finding and building the stars of the future was really the vision behind Toraya,” says Planojevic. “It’s about bringing the right talent into the organization, nurturing it, supporting it, and giving it opportunities to experiment and grow. That’s how innovation happens.”

Unlike traditional graduate schemes that place recruits directly into a single function, the Thuraya graduate program exposes participants to the entire lifecycle of a data center, from design and construction through commissioning and operations.

The objective is to create professionals who understand how every part of the ecosystem connects.

“If you’re going to be a design engineer, you need to understand how that decision will impact the operator who’s running that facility a year later,” Planojevic explains. “Having that full-circle understanding is becoming more critical for thinking, designing, and innovating.”

The approach reflects a broader shift across the industry: moving beyond specialization toward systems thinking.

CURIOSITY: THE SKILL THAT FUTURE-PROOFS CAREERS

Technical knowledge alone is no longer enough. In a fast-changing industry, adaptability is becoming the defining skill.

“The biggest thing we try to teach is shifting from a university student mindset to becoming a curious contributor,” says Planojevic.

Within Khazna’s graduate program, participants are encouraged to solve problems collaboratively, research solutions independently, and challenge conventional thinking.

“What we’re trying to create is that curiosity mindset; the ability to find resources, find solutions, and future-proof yourself,” she says. “The agility to unlearn, learn, and stay curious is probably going to be the most critical skill.”

Hood echoes this sentiment, arguing that learning cannot be treated as a periodic exercise.

“It’s not enough to send people on a course every few years and think that’s job done,” she says. “Everything is changing too fast.”

Instead, organizations must create environments where young professionals feel empowered to contribute ideas, challenge assumptions, and actively participate in shaping the future.

“They need access to thought leadership, networking opportunities, conferences, and people outside their immediate roles,” Hood says. “Those new ideas need to flow back into the organization.”

THE INDUSTRY’S VISIBILITY PROBLEM

Ironically, one of the world’s most important industries remains one of its least understood.

Despite powering nearly every digital interaction, data centers continue to operate largely behind the scenes.

“We still have many people who don’t really know how the internet works,” says Hood. “They don’t know that it comes from data centers.”

For an industry facing a growing talent shortage, that lack of visibility creates an additional challenge: attracting future generations.

“We want a 12-year-old on a gaming console or a social media platform to think, ‘I want to be part of how this works,'” she says. “Maybe they don’t become a YouTube star. Maybe they become the person who enables YouTube to exist.”

For Hood, the industry needs to become far more vocal about its impact and opportunities.

“We should shout about ourselves more,” she says.

Greater visibility, she argues, is essential if the sector hopes to inspire the engineers, operators, and innovators it will need in the coming decades.

LOOKING BEYOND TRADITIONAL TALENT POOLS

The industry’s workforce challenge also requires rethinking where talent comes from.

Not every critical role demands a conventional technology background.

According to Hood, many operational positions require characteristics that are highly transferable from other professions.

Veterans, professional athletes, hospitality professionals, and individuals from other highly disciplined environments often possess the precision, focus, and procedural rigor needed to succeed in mission-critical operations.

“You need people with incredible attention to detail who can follow procedures and execute consistently,” she says.

As concerns about AI-driven job displacement continue to grow, this creates opportunities for reskilling and career transitions into digital infrastructure roles.

“There are a lot of transferable skills that can be brought into this industry,” Hood adds.

FROM DIVERSITY TO INCLUSION

Workforce development also depends on broadening participation.

Khazna’s graduate programs have seen strong female representation in a sector historically male-dominated.

“If women make up 50% of the workforce and we’re not bringing them into STEM and IT careers, then of course we’re going to have talent shortages,” she says.

At Khazna, diversity is already embedded within the organization.

Today, the company employs more than 360 people representing around 40 nationalities.

But Planojevic believes diversity is only the starting point.

“We work very hard to move from diversity to inclusion,” she says. “That’s where the real value comes from.”

The result is what she describes as a “global village”, an environment where different perspectives contribute to innovation, problem-solving, and growth.

BUILDING THE FUTURE TOGETHER

The future of digital infrastructure will not be built in isolation.

As AI, sustainability, and cloud technologies continue to evolve, collaboration across the ecosystem is becoming increasingly important.

“No one organization can do it alone,” says Planojevic. “We’re all building different pieces of the puzzle.”

Partnerships between operators, technology companies, educational institutions, and industry bodies are becoming essential to advancing both talent development and technological progress.

That spirit of collaboration extends to individuals as well. For Hood, young professionals entering the industry should understand the significance of the work they are undertaking.

“This industry is the backbone of healthcare, emergency services, education, and modern society,” she says. “People should be proud of being part of it.”

Planojevic’s advice for the next generation is equally straightforward.

“Always be curious to explore what more is possible,” she says. “And have the humility to say, ‘I don’t know, let’s learn together.”

AI may define the next era of innovation, but it is the people behind the infrastructure who will decide how far it goes.