LMG Selected As Partner In First Ever Data Centre Curriculum For 14-19-Year-Olds
Smart building experts among industry leaders chosen to support Digital Futures programme at University Technical College Heathrow
Smart building and infrastructure specialist, LMG, has been selected as an industry partner for a new, first-of-its-kind educational programme for 14 – 19-year-olds, focused on the digital infrastructure and data centre industries.
LMG is one of eight industry-leading businesses which will help to deliver the Digital Futures Programme at the University Technical College in Heathrow (UTC Heathrow). The curriculum allows students to gain the essential knowledge and skills needed to thrive in technical careers within the data centre sector.
The programme content has been designed in close collaboration with LMG and seven other global industry organisations: CNet Training (CNet), VIRTUS Data Centres, CyrusOne, CBRE, Amazon Web Services (AWS), ARK Data Centres (Crown Hosting Data Centres Limited) and Yondr, who have all committed funding and resources to the programme to guarantee students receive a first-class technical education.
LMG operates across a wide range of industries including financial services, technology, communications, datacentre, government, hospitality and residential, to help global organisations plan, install and manage the smart building systems and infrastructure they need. The firm’s data centre services include the design & build of landlord and operator areas with smart building technology, ICT infrastructure, electronic security and audio-visual systems.
Mike Hook, executive director of LMG, comments: “Data and digital infrastructure isn’t going away any time soon – the sector is growing rapidly and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. However, there is a significant skills shortage in this area, which needs to be addressed urgently.
“This programme gives us a chance to directly help solve this issue by lending our expertise and experience to shape the future of the industry by educating and empowering these young people to pursue and enjoy long and successful careers.”
Students on the Digital Futures programme will be given the skills and contacts they need to pursue a career in the data centre and digital infrastructure field. This will make certain that the students gain the much sought-after skills that businesses need and sets in motion the longer-term steps required to tackle the skills shortage.
The idea for the Digital Futures Programme came from a meeting between Andrew Stevens, President and CEO of CNet, and the Baker Dearing Trust, an organisation which develops UTCs.
Lord Baker, chairman of the Baker Dearing Trust, was impressed with the quality of the programme, saying: “The commitment from leading global organisations to launch the Digital Futures Programme is a clear demonstration that the UTC education model has real value.
“It creates a blueprint for how STEM sectors can engage strategically with education to build sustainable skills pipelines. It puts the local commercial and industrial companies at the heart of education. They know what skills their young employees must have and that is what a UTC does. This is an excellent example for many schools across the country."
To ensure that the programme remains relevant and adapts continuously, the participating organisations will meet the UTC Heathrow team every half term to review, improve, and add to the programme content as needed.
For more information see www.heathrow-utc.org
