Nxera, partners to train 500 for data centre-related and digital roles

Source: Singtel.  These initiatives were announced at Nxera’s inauguraSingapore Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, who is also the adviser of the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) for ITE and Polytechnics Alliance (TIP Alliance).

Singtel's regional data centre arm Nxera and its industry partners plan to train and hire more than 500 people for data centre-related and digital roles in support of Singapore's AI ambitions.

The recruitment and training initiatives reinforce Nxera’s support for the TIP Alliance led by the Infocomm Media Development Authority and co-chaired by Singapore Computer Society and SGTech. This alliance aims to strengthen Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and polytechnic graduates’ employment outcomes in tech and provide industry-ready talent development pathways. The initiative further offers a direct route to Nxera’s Work-Study Degree Programme with Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) upon graduation.

Nxera is accelerating its expansion plans with the development of several AI data centres in the Asia region. Together with its partners, which include data centre design and consultancy firms, construction, automation specialists, cooling technology and various data centre equipment suppliers, Nxera is hiring fresh graduates and mid-career professionals across technical and non-technical functions such as consultancy, design, engineering, operations as well as sustainability talent through internships, graduate programmes, work-study and full-time roles. 

With the acceleration in digital and AI adoption, Singapore aims to expand data centre capacity by more than one-third in the next few years. This is paralleled in other Asian countries, which are also experiencing a huge buildout of data centres in their cities.

Nxera's CEO Bill Chang said: "Singapore’s digital economy accounts for almost a fifth of gross domestic product. While data centres power everything from cloud computing, government and enterprise systems to AI applications and smart city technologies, awareness of the career paths and opportunities in this field is still limited. 

"Nxera is leading the development of a new category of AI data centres to transform enterprises and industries through the power of AI. This new generation of Sustainable Centres of Intelligence, featuring high capacity GPUs, are built to host intensive AI workloads with 15 times higher density than that of traditional facilities and yet have the highest power and water efficiency for sustainable operations.”

“With the growth in digital infrastructure outstripping the pace at which new people are joining the industry, we've made it a priority to tackle this talent gap together with our industry partners. Data centres are at the forefront of the AI revolution and we hope our inaugural Sustainable AI Data Centre Career Day will open doors to students, fresh graduates and mid-career professionals to this dynamic and strategic industry," Chang added. 

"We need to nurture a skilled workforce to build a strong digital core and scale up AI capabilities which will help strengthen Singapore’s role as a regional leader and hub in the global digital economy."

Nxera has also committed to upskilling all of its employees in AI operations and sustainability through co-curated data centre courses with its five education partners – SIT, Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic and ITE. 

Since its launch in January 2024, Nxera has focused on developing talent for the data centre industry with ecosystem partners. Nxera created a Sustainable AI Data Centre Academy in collaboration with these institutes of higher learning to address the talent gap, particularly in new areas such as sustainability and high-density AI environments. 

The Nxera team has jointly developed curriculum and training programmes, incorporating practical workplace asynchronous learning for existing undergraduate, diploma and ITE data centre- related courses and upskilling opportunities for seasoned and mid-career professionals. This includes competency-based, stackable micro-credentials that align with the latest technologies and practices as well as mentoring from industry experts. Nxera estimates that more than 1,000 professionals across the ecosystem could be trained through these courses in partnership with the industry and institutes.

The Sustainable AI Data Centre Career Day brought together over 1,000 students, job seekers and mid-career professionals, along with government agencies, institutes of higher learning and industry leaders. It aimed to spotlight the wide range of careers in the fast-growing data centre and digital infrastructure sectors and boost Singapore’s talent pipeline. As an official event under the SkillsFuture Festival, the career day also reinforced national goals of lifelong learning, career agility and workforce resilience.

Nxera's 58 MW sustainable AI-ready data centre, DC Tuas, in Singapore is set to begin operations in early 2026 and enhance its footprint in a key market. DC Tuas will be one of the largest liquid-cooled AI data centres in Asia with high power and water efficiency. Nxera intends make a full transition to renewable energy sources for its operations by 2028 and also support customers in achieving their decarbonisation goals.