Switch, CSN form internship for climate control techs
January 4, 2016 - 2:57 pm
Climate control is essential for Las Vegas tech giant Switch, where the difference of a single degree imperils thousands of servers holding data for big-name clients that include Amazon, eBay and Microsoft.
An army of technicians work around the clock to maintain a brisk 68 degrees at the company's information warehouses just west of Henderson, using a proprietary system to fend off fickle desert temperatures that often yo-yo by double digits within a single day. And Switch's demand for specialists is only growing — the company last year announced a $4 billion expansion plan to build new digital storage sites across Nevada.
To meet that burgeoning need, the computing company has formed an internship program with the College of Southern Nevada aimed at funneling budding technicians into full-time jobs at Switch. Beginning in 2016, the company will pick eight CSN students each year to train in its facilities near South Jones Boulevard and the 215 Beltway. The students will get hired once they complete an associate's degree in heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems from the college.
"Your computer generates a lot of heat," said Dennis Soukup, who heads CSN's HVAC department and will oversee the new program. "You can imagine what thousands of computers can generate."
Switch also will send some of its technicians to participate in the program with the hope that the employees will boost their resumes and climb the company's ranks. It will launch during the upcoming summer semester, beginning with communication and math offerings for current Switch employees.
"Switch has always viewed education as the No. 1 driver for economic development," company spokesman Adam Kramer said. "CSN was very welcoming and helped us develop a program to fill the job force that we need."
Rick Trachok, chairman for the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education, lauded the partnership and called it a "great opportunity for CSN."
"What's truly remarkable is for CSN to have their students working over there and understanding how the company works," Trachok said. "It gives us a great entree into an area of data storage that's just growing."
Coursework for the new program, tailored by CSN President Michael Richards and Switch CEO Rob Roy, will include general education classes open to all CSN students that will be taught at Switch's Innevation Center, the company's 65,000-square-foot futuristic workspace. Reminders of the tech company's focus on temperature balance punctuate the center's halls, illuminated with red and blue spotlights that represent hot and cold.
"We all know how important air conditioning is for Las Vegas," Richards said. "It's even more important for data centers."
— Contact Ana Ley at aley@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512. Find her on Twitter: @la__ley