Scotland's Critical Infrastructure is Evolving, But Who's Closing the Skills Gap?

"Data centres are now critical to almost every sector, from banking to healthcare. Yet many organisations still underestimate their exposure. True resilience means continuous operations despite cyber threats, power failures, or climate events. The skills gap is particularly acute here. "You can be very competent building houses, ‌but once you get to data centres where everything is critical, it's a different skill, a different requirement.""

"Scotland's digital infrastructure is growing fast. From data centres powering businesses to labs and offices driving innovation, demand for resilient, modern systems has never been higher. But growth without skills creates fragility. Resilience is not just about buildings or technology - it is about people. Infrastructure is expanding, the energy transition is accelerating, and climate commitments are reshaping priorities. Yet the workforce to maintain it all is struggling to keep pace."

Digital infrastructure across Scotland is expanding rapidly, driven by data centres, laboratories and offices that support business operations and innovation. Data centres now underpin multiple sectors, yet many organisations underestimate exposure to cyber threats, power outages and climate events. The workforce to design, operate and maintain these critical systems is not increasing at the same pace, creating fragility. The life sciences and pharma sectors are growing and adding regulatory and technical demands. Collaboration between government, industry and organisations such as Asanti, alongside targeted training and investment, is required to build resilient operations.

Read at Business Matters