Singtel spearheads data centre hiring drive to fill over 500 jobs

SINGAPORE – Singtel’s regional data centre arm Nxera and its industry partners aim to hire more than 500 people here in the coming months, growing capacity in line with robust demand from firms for artificial intelligence (AI) computing muscle.

Around 40 per cent of those openings are for entry-level roles, said Nxera, defying early signs else­where in the technology sector of hiring pullbacks for junior staff who can be increasingly replaced by AI.

Nxera chief executive Bill Chang on July 25 outlined the sector’s prospects at the inaugural Sustainable AI Data Centre Career Day, spearheaded by Nxera. Around 1,000 students from tertiary institutions attended the event at ITE College East, which is part of the ongoing SkillsFuture Festival.

“This is a paradox: One side of AI says it’s going to disrupt jobs... The other side of AI needs (workers) – that’s us, building AI infrastructure,” Mr Chang said.

Nxera, which has more than 200 staff, is 80 per cent owned by Digital InfraCo, Singtel’s stand-alone infrastructure unit. The other 20 per cent is held by global investment firm KKR.

Mr Chang noted that, unlike traditional data centres, AI data centres like those that Nxera is building pack an extremely high amount of computing power into a given amount of space. This also means very high heat output, as well as electrical and water consumption.

This requires deep science and engineering skills to design ways to increase efficiency, reduce heat and ensure reliability, as well as digital skills to connect the data centre with networks to transmit the output swiftly.

Nxera and its partners need both fresh talent and mid-career hires in fields from facilities maintenance and sustainability to thermal engineering, among other areas, Mr Chang said.

In Nxera’s case, about half its openings lie in engineering, while the rest are spread across the rest of the business.

To ensure Nxera can quickly draw in enough talent with the right skills, Mr Chang added that it has helped put in place multiple pathways into meaningful roles in the up-and-coming sector, such as work-study schemes for Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and polytechnic students.

It has tied up with the Singapore Institute of Technology; Nanyang, Singapore and Temasek polytechnics; as well as ITE to design courses about the latest data centres used for AI applications.

The company remains on track to launch DC Tuas, its next data centre in Singapore, come early 2026.

In what Nxera sees as a sign of resilient demand for data centres for the most sophisticated applications, DC Tuas has pre-sold about half its capacity, Mr Chang said.

Customers include fast-growing tech companies from the United States. Chinese firms are finalising terms as well, while discussions are ongoing with local enterprises.

In his keynote address at the event, Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, highlighted support available for aspiring tech talent graduating from the ITE and polytechnics.

Addressing job seeker anxieties that have emerged in recent months, he said the Government will continue to work with industry partners and employers on new pathways and better jobs.

For instance, since 2022, more than 1,000 good tech jobs have been committed by employers for ITE and poly graduates under the TechSkills Accelerator for ITE and Polytechnics Alliance, he added.

He noted the uptick in median salary reported by information and digital technology poly graduates from $2,700 in 2022 to $2,900 in 2024.

Mr Tan pointed out that data centres are a key part of Singapore’s future economy driven by AI innovation, but land and resource constraints mean higher sustainability requirements are needed – something he praised players here for responding positively to.

Mr Chua Wei Xun, 22, an associate engineer with Nxera, recently completed his work-study diploma in data centre infrastructure and operations at ITE College East, which included over a year of training on the job.

He recommends the course to prospective students looking to work in information technology, facility management or customer support, as it has “quite a broad scope, so you can learn a lot”.