As part of us recognising and marking National Apprenticeship Week earlier this month, we sat down with one of the current apprentices at Cyrusone in Europe, Kirstie Poon, to discuss her journey so far and what she’s learned. Here’s what she had to say:

I first heard about the apprenticeship opportunity at school, where I was completing the UTC Heathrow Digital Futures Data Center program. I didn’t know much about the data center industry before this course but when I heard about the opportunity, I was intrigued to learn more.

A key part of my role is shadowing experienced engineers in Slough and keeping on top of emails, admin, vendor communication and maintenance. I was definitely surprised at just how much goes into keeping data centers up and running and how important and integral these facilities are to our everyday lives.

From engineers working round the clock to various teams monitoring the facilities and maintaining communication with clients that rent out the data center halls, it’s a massive collaborative effort to keep the lights on and operations moving smoothly. It’s been inspiring to see how it all works together. I’ve also been surprised to learn the details of the various back-up plans on standby in the case of any outages, from battery storages to secondary generators. It’s a really complex system and it has been so interesting to see how it all works first-hand.

It’s been great to meet a variety of people across teams and disciplines at CyrusOne, from marketing and engineering, to operations and facility managers. This has helped me understand different sectors within a big organization like CyrusOne and find out more about their journeys and specific roles. I’ve also been able to visit a variety of our data center locations in and around Slough to really get a feel for the broader portfolio. In particular, it’s been great to learn from Balvinder Sandhu, Operations Specialist, who I’ve been working closely with from the start, I have learned so much from her

If I were to share any advice with others looking to get into the industry or pursue a similar apprenticeship, I’d say to keep an open mind, be proactive and stay curious. It also helps if you’re a “hands-on” kind of person, and ready to get stuck into whatever is needed of you on a particular day. There’s a lot of information to be absorbed, both about the specific facilities and the broader industry. If you’re open to learning and trying new things, you’ll reap the benefits.

I’m really thankful for the experience I’ve gained from this apprenticeship program and look forward to what’s to come. Before starting the program, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or what I enjoyed, but this role has allowed me to learn what I’m good at and what I value in a job and future career. It’s great that I can do this alongside studying to obtain my qualifications and appreciate the flexibility that the program has offered me. Thank you, CyrusOne!

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