International Data Center Authority (IDCA), a leading global technology training & certification firm, and CEC Facilities Group (CEC), a Top 50 MEP & Technology Infrastructure Design Build contracting firm, today announced a partnership to deliver a range of mission critical training & certification programs, to be hosted at CEC University in Irving, Texas.

Over the past several years, developers, owners and operators of data centers, and the architectural, engineering & contracting (AEC) companies that support them, have become increasingly challenged by a shortage of qualified talent to meet market demand.

To address this growing need for mission critical training, in 2022, Irving, TX based CEC Facilities Group purchased and renovated a building near its corporate headquarters. According to Brad Smith, President, CEC Companies “When we initially embarked on this journey to build and staff CEC University, it was to provide our employees multiple career paths, and the education they would need to succeed at the highest level.” Smith continued, “With the attention and interest our curriculum gained in the industry, it quickly became clear we would need to supplement our own faculty, with partnerships that could both expand and accelerate the delivery of mission critical training across a broad range of roles for both operators and AEC companies. Our partnership with IDCA bridges that gap. It will not only serve to further expand our ability to train our employees, but also extends to our clients, partners and even our competitors. This is a significant challenge that our entire industry needs to work together to solve.”

According to Sean Maguire, CEC’s Vice President, Mission Critical, “In the past year, we have witnessed an unprecedented stream of announcements for a wide range of data center developments, not only from the traditional colocation and hyperscale companies, but also from new entrants into the mission critical industry. In parallel, significant AI deployment has ushered in a new era of data center design complexity, as these applications require more power, resulting in more complex and varied mechanical & electrical systems to support them. This presents both a challenge and opportunity for those in the mission critical industry. To remain relevant, training and education must keep up with this radical pace of change.”

Kurtis Friesen, Head of North America for IDCA stated, “In CEC, we saw a partner with the same sense of urgency, and equally committed to responding to increased training demands in the mission critical industry. After touring their recently opened CEC University building and meeting with Fred McHugh, Dean of CEC University and faculty, we immediately knew that their contemporary and well-equipped facilities, was a perfect fit to host our certified training programs in Dallas.”

For more information visit IDCA training programs.