IBTC has expanded its Data Centre Academy into Kenya, formally launching the programme at ITW & Datacloud Africa in Nairobi through partnerships with iXAfrica Data Centres and IMEX as East African delivery partners.
The initiative is designed to create a structured pathway for engineering and telecommunications graduates to enter the data centre industry through professional certification and practical workplace exposure. Schneider Electric University provides the foundational Data Centre Certified Associate curriculum, while the Africa Data Centres Association provides industry governance and DC Elite oversees recruitment and placement.
The Kenya rollout follows IBTC’s “source, train, place” model. Participants begin with Schneider Electric University’s DCCA I curriculum, covering critical areas including data centre power, cooling, controls, security and risk management, before progressing towards EPI/EXIN certification.
The first disclosed Kenya cohort comprises five iXAfrica technical staff members who will undertake a three-week placement working with live data centre equipment. The practical component is intended to complement classroom-based learning with direct exposure to operational data centre environments.
IBTC already operates the academy commercially in South Africa and Nigeria and has also delivered workforce training for a data centre operator in Qatar. The Kenya programme is supported through the Digital Investment Facility, an EU-co-funded initiative focused on strengthening digital infrastructure across sub-Saharan Africa.
Schneider Electric’s DCCA qualification provides foundational knowledge of the critical physical infrastructure required to design and operate modern data centres. The expansion comes as demand for specialised data centre skills grows alongside Africa’s expanding digital infrastructure ecosystem.
