Joanne Reynolds and Mark Finlay of AWS with Martin O’Brien and Davy McDonnell of DIFE launching the course in Drogheda. They are standing outside and holding an AWS sign.
Joanne Reynolds and Mark Finlay of AWS with Martin O’Brien and Davy McDonnell of DIFE. Image: DIFE

New hands-on course to train data centre technicians in Drogheda

22 Oct 2021

The part-time data centre technician course is a collaboration between Drogheda Institute of Further Education and AWS.

A new data centre technician course in Drogheda will prepare those looking to break into the ever-growing industry here in Ireland.

The course is being delivered by Drogheda Institute of Further Education (DIFE) in collaboration with industry partner Amazon Web Services (AWS). It includes a bursary programme that will allow successful applicants to complete the programme for free.

The course aims to provide a solid grounding for those interested in applying for data centre technician roles.

AWS operates several data centre facilities in Ireland and has chosen Drogheda as an investment location. Course participants will be given the opportunity to apply for a 14-week paid placement at one of its data centres.

Mark Finlay, head of public sector for the Republic of Ireland at AWS, said the course “will help individuals from the local community and surrounding areas to jump-start a career in technology”.

In June, Finlay told Siliconrepublic.com that the company, which employs more than 3,000 across the country, was “not done growing” here. He said AWS would be hiring data centre technicians as well as many other roles across the cloud services sector in the future.

According to Davy Mc Donnell, principal of DIFE, the new data centre technician programme will “provide a springboard for local people to advance on an exciting career path in this emerging sector”.

“The commitment from AWS, a global leader in cloud computing, to support a training programme in Drogheda is greatly welcomed and will provide students in the Drogheda community with a unique opportunity to develop the relevant skills to secure in-demand jobs in the region,” said Mc Donnell.

The course will run from January to August 2022. It will be a part-time course, consisting of three evenings of study per week as well as bi-weekly workshops on Saturdays. The paid placement with AWS will begin in May of next year.

Once qualified, graduates will receive dual certification in the latest data centre technologies. They will learn about maintaining the hardware infrastructure of cloud computing servers, performing diagnostics and troubleshooting problems. They will also work in teams to resolve hardware and networking systems issues.

Applications are now open for the programme, with course interviews scheduled for late November. More information on the course and applying for the January 2022 intake can be found on DIFE’s website.

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Blathnaid O’Dea
By Blathnaid O’Dea

Blathnaid O’Dea joined Silicon Republic in 2021 as Careers reporter, coming from a background in the Humanities. She likes people, pranking, pictures of puffins – and apparently alliteration.

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