EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
MARYNET BASSILY , DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND
SUPPLY CHAIN , EMEA , VANTAGE DATA CENTERS
I network with senior managers and executives with the primary aim of encouraging more female applicants into STEM roles and advancing their career progression .
With skills shortages across the IT industry , CIOs can and should turn to the convenience , flexibility and productivity benefits afforded by colocation and by hosting more IT workloads in the cloud . However , it is equally important to develop longer-term strategies for attracting new blood into their organisations while also retaining and leveraging the latent skills that may already exist within the workforce .
This means thinking more creatively and going beyond the norm . Look past the conventional wisdom that has seen the industry remain too inward-looking when it comes to recruitment . Practice diversity and inclusivity in the widest sense to ensure significantly more people from all walks of life – irrespective of gender or ethnicity – are equally considered for positions of responsibility . And with this , offer greater flexibility on working practices , especially in the case of working mothers .
Take the data centre business , for example , in general it remains male-dominated . The balance needs to be rectified to ensure more talent enters the sector from outside . As an Egyptian-born single mother with a construction engineering background , I am speaking from experience . But there are exceptions – my opportunity to transfer my skills to the data centre industry finally came four years ago thanks to Colt Data Centre Services who recruited me as global head of strategic sourcing and supplier relationship management . And now , as Director of Procurement and Supply Chain , EMEA at Vantage Data Centers , I serve on the company ’ s Justice , Equity , Diversity and Inclusivity Council as part of its ongoing commitment to being a diverse and inclusive workplace .
I am also a mentor on Vantage ’ s Women Leadership Forum : I network with senior managers and executives with the primary aim of encouraging more female applicants into STEM roles and advancing their career progression in the data centre industry . The power of mentoring cannot be underestimated for transferring practical knowledge and experience – it ’ s crucial to building employee self-confidence , motivation and the sharing of experiences and ideas . This stimulates new thinking and contributes enormously to overall innovation .
For key positions that cannot otherwise be accommodated for within the current workforce , CIOs should consider potential candidates working in related industries . For instance , in the data centre space , this might include those working in the wider construction sector such as rail and gas where there is significant opportunity for the transference of skills . Equally , for more general roles like project management , it helps to be more open to considering graduates from non-engineering backgrounds . Moreover , consider recruiting from further afield , not just from within the local region or country concerned .
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