Talentwashing: the new trend in the data centre industry

This article is part of our Opinions section, where we invite industry professionals to share their views on the most pressing technology questions of our time.

The data centre industry is booming – and that’s putting it lightly. The global data centre market size was valued at USD 242.72 billion in 2024. The market is projected to grow from USD 269.79 billion in 2025 to USD 584.86 billion by 2032. With exponential growth in demand for cloud infrastructure, AI compute, and digital services, you’d think the sector would be overflowing with opportunities for fresh talent. And if you looked at the headlines, panel sessions, webinars, roundtables, and social media posts, you’d definitely think companies were investing heavily in the next generation.

‘Talentwashing’

But scratch beneath the surface, and a different story unfolds. Welcome to what has become my ‘Roman Empire’ (IYKYK) over recent months, and I finally have a name for it: talentwashing – the practice of ‘performing’ support for early-career professionals, diversity, and inclusion without making any meaningful changes to infrastructure, investments, culture, or hiring practices.

Much like greenwashing in sustainability, talentwashing is all optics and no substance. Companies flood LinkedIn with polished DEI statements, mentorship pledges, and “Future Talent” programmes, yet when you look a little closer, you realise they are only around certain ‘notable days’. You spot companies continuing to post “entry-level” roles demanding years of experience and multiple technical certifications. If you jump on a popular social media jobs board and search ‘datacentre’ and filter by entry level and internships, you’ll see for yourself.  

Barriers to entry

We discuss the importance of removing barriers to entry and then watch companies post unpaid internships, based in the office, requiring travel, to say the least. And training budgets are often among the first to be cut when costs are reduced. Junior roles are rare. The irony, of course, is in posting these types of roles on LinkedIn, a social media platform created for those ‘already’ in corporate positions. The hesitation, even in my own experience, to expand where the ‘target market’ for new entrants and young professionals may reside is widespread and quickly brushed off as ‘a generational playground’. We don’t see the industry investing in programmes and ongoing works that have meaningful outcomes, but rather as content fodder to make themselves look good. 

One friend’s daughter has been searching for ‘internships’ only to find you need ‘two years’ experience in the industry to qualify. How is that an internship? The actual definition of an internship is a position where a student or trainee works in an organisation, often without pay, to gain work experience. They are typically short-term, allowing individuals to gain practical experience and insights into a particular industry, yet this was for a full-time role that required considerable industry experience. 

Talk not action

This problem is especially acute in the digital infrastructure industry. The sector faces a well-documented talent shortage and ageing workforce, but the response from many organisations has been performative at best. This is not everyone – there are those who are leading with their chest, and they are clear to spot. The ones who don’t just ‘partner’ but open their doors, who believe in the change, and who often do it because it’s the right thing to do, not because they’re looking to fill the comms calendar. However, we still see endless conference panels discussing inclusion, but few measurable hiring outcomes. We hear about talent pipelines, yet candidates report dead ends.

The result? A system that appears progressive, while in practice remains exclusionary, inaccessible, and deeply resistant to change. And the longer this continues, the more it undermines the industry’s credibility — and future. 

Talent management best practice

If the data centre industry wants to survive and thrive, it needs to move from performative to proactive:

• Fund paid internships and apprenticeships that don’t require privilege to access.
  Especially in the UK, where so many companies are treating their apprenticeship levy as a tax and writing it off as it is easier than building the programmes to support apprenticeships at every level.
  
• Redesign entry-level roles to actually be accessible to early-career professionals.
  Truthfully, look at the requirements for entry-level roles, do you really need someone who has 27 certifications, 3 years of experience, and if you do, be honest, update this not to be a suitable position for a new entrant to the workforce.
  
• Invest in mentorship, onboarding, and training, not just talk about them.
  This one, in my opinion, can be one of the easiest ones to address as it’s based on the continuous improvement of likely existing projects and programmes. Create working groups that span different generations that can help review these so that they are not done in isolation, and often on the to-do list of very stretched teams. It helps involve all employees from varying disciplines to contribute to the culture of the organisation, too.
  
• Measure and publish outcomes, not just intentions.
  Follow-up is the biggest gap that is specific to the digital infrastructure industry. We love a panel – and I can say that having sat on many – but what are the take-away actions? What are the next steps that panellists and delegates should take to address the symptoms of talentwashing in their teams and organisations? 

Joint responsibility

Alongside talentwashing comes the expectation that this practice can be solved by one department; every single employee in the digital infrastructure industry can help remove this cultural stain on our industry. Whether that’s delivering assemblies in schools, calling out job descriptions, eliminating unconscious biases, or encouraging publications and event hosts to produce tangible outcomes for delegations.

The next generation doesn’t want pizza nights and hashtags. They want access, development, and equity. Talentwashing isn’t just a PR problem, it’s not even just an HR problem — it’s a pipeline and business growth risk. And if it isn’t addressed, the industry’s future won’t just be delayed. It’ll be derailed.