Schneider Electric’s David Abrahams named Chair of the iMasons Armed Forces MRG

Schneider Electric says that David Abrahams, Key Client Manager, Cloud & Service Providers, Secure Power division, has been named the new Chair of the iMasons Armed Forces Meeting Resources Group (MRG). The iMasons Armed Forces MRG is a strategic initiative, formed to increase the number of military veterans, military spouses, guards, and reservists working in data centres and digital infrastructure. It helps to both raise awareness and showcase the industry’s career opportunities for veterans, while informing and educating the data centre sector about the value that veterans can offer to mission-critical organisations. As its new Chair, David Abrahams replaces Mike Eytle, EMEA Regional Director, Datacentre Lease Construction and Fit-Out for Microsoft, and is appointed to lead alongside Lee Kirby, Executive Chair and Global Sponsor of the Armed Forces MRG, to build upon Mike’s work - leading the initiative locally in the UK and Ireland (UK&I), and championing the iMasons support for veterans seeking employment in technical, engineering and operational roles.

As a member of the Royal Air Force Reserves, David’s ambition is to connect the iMasons with other industry Veteran Support Groups and bring together the digital infrastructure ecosystem to support veteran employment opportunities within the UK and Ireland.

“The technology industry has a plethora of initiatives underway to help engage with graduates, apprentices and early talent, but is also calling out for highly experienced technical and operational personnel, who can provide a valuable contribution to the ever-growing data centre industry,” said David Abrahams, Key Client Manager, Cloud & Service Providers, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric. “Being appointed Chair of the iMasons Armed Forces MRG provides us with a valuable opportunity to give back to those who have served for King and country, while helping to address the skills shortage by building the data centre workforce of the future.”

AI and data centre skills shortages

With the significant increase in demand for energy and data centre capacity, fuelled by the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), David’s appointment aligns with Schneider Electric’s mission to bridge the sector’s skills shortage, which according to Uptime Institute, will require 300,000 full-time employee equivalents by 2025. To address this, the company already has several digital programmes in place, including the Schneider Electric University, a vendor-agnostic and CPD accredited professional development platform, which helps stakeholders upskill and stay up-to-date with the latest technology, sustainability, and energy efficiency initiatives. To date, the Schneider Electric University has delivered more than one million, free-to-attend courses to over 650,000 data centre, energy and sustainability professionals, and has more than 180 countries represented by its global user-base. Additionally, Schneider Electric recently announced its new Schneider Electric Training programme, creating a best-in-class approach to training by unifying specialist academies, courses, and digital campuses into a holistic offering. The move is in response to the skills gap and the role that training plays in addressing the complexities associated with digital transformation, covering everything from AI, automation and infrastructure equipment, to power, energy management, safety standards and regulations. 

Veteran career opportunities

David’s work with the iMasons Armed Forces MRG also reinforces Schneider Electric’s long-term commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and its recently announced Veterans Transition Program (VTP), which welcomed a group of ex-military professionals into the organisation on the 1st July 2024. The VTP is a 12-month programme delivered in collaboration with Redeployable, whose mission is to match 5,000 veterans with high growth tech roles in the next six years, and which introduces skilled veterans into Schneider Electric’s Energy Management business at a crucial time of industry growth.

To help support their journey at Schneider Electric, the programme includes intensive training to help transition the veterans into a range of technical and leadership roles across its Digital Energy, Secure Power, data centre and Services businesses, and will provide valuable training and experience in one of the world’s most critical sectors.