DCPro’s industry renowned Fundamentals of Mission Critical Infrastructure® e-learning series, has been updated and enhanced to meet the requirements of the full CMCO syllabus, providing employers and individuals with the perfect learning pathway to the CMCO examination and credential.

FMCI® comprises 18 e-learning modules and a total of 64 hours of online-learning which can be taken at the students own pace outside of the working environment.

On announcing the exciting new partnership with Global Skills X-Change (GSX), the administrators of the certification, Dan Celino, Commercial Director, DCPro stated ‘We’re delighted that our e-learning materials have been recognised as industry-leading and meet all the requirements of the CMCO program. We look forward to engaging with data center operators who want to invest in developing their workforce’.

Why CMCO?

Recognizing both the increasing importance of data centers to the economy and the need for a qualified workforce to operate them, the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration provided a grant in 2013 to enable the creation of this multifaceted training program. The aim was to prepare tomorrow’s workforce for the mission critical industry sector.

An industry-wide consultation with experienced mission critical operators and higher education specialists began. Led by a group of academic institutions, the CMCO program was created over a 3 year period. A knowledge blueprint was developed to support the educational syllabus that underpins the CMCO credential. To use the credential, individuals must pass an examination administered by Global Skills Exchange (GSX). Anyone can sit the exam, but it is strongly recommended that individuals have a minimum of 6 months formal data center training and/or 6 months of direct work experience. .

Dennis Cronin, CEO Resilient Solutions LLC and Founder, 7x24 Exchange, stated that ‘operating data centers that are hyperscale, edge, and everything in between requires a high level of skill and employers are constantly looking for professionals who can do the job. How do potential employees know if they are ready for this work? How do employers gain confidence that the candidates they seek are qualified? We’ve developed the CMCO program to address these vital questions.’

Bryan Kainrath, SVP, GSX, added that ‘It has been clear for a while that as the data center industry matures, it requires a more formalized pathway to training and education. We are delighted to be partnering with DCPro to meet this challenge. The support we’ve had from the industry has been extremely positive and we’re now looking forward to developing our relationship with DCPro, and other commercial training providers, with CMCO as the recognised industry standard. The breadth and quality of training that FMCI® provides the industry, had been lacking up to this point’.