Data Center Technician

Shared first block for every VoTechWorks program. OSHA 10 (30 for construction management), first aid/CPR/AED, applied trade math and measurement, technical reading and writing, digital literacy, and career readiness. Completed before students enter the lab and live systems unsupervised.

• Hold an OSHA 10 card and current CPR/AED certification
• Convert, measure and estimate with trade units, fractions, percentages and basic geometry
• Read a specification, code excerpt or manual and write a clear technical report
• Use email, spreadsheets, and the program's digital job-management tools
• Present a resume, portfolio and interview answers to an employer panel

Competency course in Rack & stack for the Data Center Technician program. Instruction moves from demonstration to supervised practice to independent performance in the lab and live systems, measured against vendor documentation and industry standards. Students configure, secure and troubleshoot real work in Rack & stack and keep a lab notebook signed off by the instructor.

• Explain the principles, terminology and standards that govern Rack & stack
• Select and safely use the tools, equipment and materials for Rack & stack
• Perform the core tasks of Rack & stack to the standard, within time, without rework
• Identify faults, hazards and non-conformities in Rack & stack work and correct them
• Document Rack & stack work in the lab notebook to industry format

Competency course in structured cabling & fiber for the Data Center Technician program. Instruction moves from demonstration to supervised practice to independent performance in the lab and live systems, measured against vendor documentation and industry standards. Students configure, secure and troubleshoot real work in structured cabling & fiber and keep a lab notebook signed off by the instructor.

• Explain the principles, terminology and standards that govern structured cabling & fiber
• Select and safely use the tools, equipment and materials for structured cabling & fiber
• Perform the core tasks of structured cabling & fiber to the standard, within time, without rework
• Identify faults, hazards and non-conformities in structured cabling & fiber work and correct them
• Document structured cabling & fiber work in the lab notebook to industry format

Competency course in power distribution for the Data Center Technician program. Instruction moves from demonstration to supervised practice to independent performance in the lab and live systems, measured against vendor documentation and industry standards. Students configure, secure and troubleshoot real work in power distribution and keep a lab notebook signed off by the instructor.

• Explain the principles, terminology and standards that govern power distribution
• Select and safely use the tools, equipment and materials for power distribution
• Perform the core tasks of power distribution to the standard, within time, without rework
• Identify faults, hazards and non-conformities in power distribution work and correct them
• Document power distribution work in the lab notebook to industry format

Competency course in cooling & airflow for the Data Center Technician program. Instruction moves from demonstration to supervised practice to independent performance in the lab and live systems, measured against vendor documentation and industry standards. Students configure, secure and troubleshoot real work in cooling & airflow and keep a lab notebook signed off by the instructor.

• Explain the principles, terminology and standards that govern cooling & airflow
• Select and safely use the tools, equipment and materials for cooling & airflow
• Perform the core tasks of cooling & airflow to the standard, within time, without rework
• Identify faults, hazards and non-conformities in cooling & airflow work and correct them
• Document cooling & airflow work in the lab notebook to industry format

Competency course in server/network hardware for the Data Center Technician program. Instruction moves from demonstration to supervised practice to independent performance in the lab and live systems, measured against vendor documentation and industry standards. Students configure, secure and troubleshoot real work in server/network hardware and keep a lab notebook signed off by the instructor.

• Explain the principles, terminology and standards that govern server/network hardware
• Select and safely use the tools, equipment and materials for server/network hardware
• Perform the core tasks of server/network hardware to the standard, within time, without rework
• Identify faults, hazards and non-conformities in server/network hardware work and correct them
• Document server/network hardware work in the lab notebook to industry format

Competency course in Linux basics for the Data Center Technician program. Instruction moves from demonstration to supervised practice to independent performance in the lab and live systems, measured against vendor documentation and industry standards. Students configure, secure and troubleshoot real work in Linux basics and keep a lab notebook signed off by the instructor.

• Explain the principles, terminology and standards that govern Linux basics
• Select and safely use the tools, equipment and materials for Linux basics
• Perform the core tasks of Linux basics to the standard, within time, without rework
• Identify faults, hazards and non-conformities in Linux basics work and correct them
• Document Linux basics work in the lab notebook to industry format

Competency course in monitoring & ticketing for the Data Center Technician program. Instruction moves from demonstration to supervised practice to independent performance in the lab and live systems, measured against vendor documentation and industry standards. Students configure, secure and troubleshoot real work in monitoring & ticketing and keep a lab notebook signed off by the instructor.

• Explain the principles, terminology and standards that govern monitoring & ticketing
• Select and safely use the tools, equipment and materials for monitoring & ticketing
• Perform the core tasks of monitoring & ticketing to the standard, within time, without rework
• Identify faults, hazards and non-conformities in monitoring & ticketing work and correct them
• Document monitoring & ticketing work in the lab notebook to industry format

Competency course in physical security for the Data Center Technician program. Instruction moves from demonstration to supervised practice to independent performance in the lab and live systems, measured against vendor documentation and industry standards. Students configure, secure and troubleshoot real work in physical security and keep a lab notebook signed off by the instructor.

• Explain the principles, terminology and standards that govern physical security
• Select and safely use the tools, equipment and materials for physical security
• Perform the core tasks of physical security to the standard, within time, without rework
• Identify faults, hazards and non-conformities in physical security work and correct them
• Document physical security work in the lab notebook to industry format

Competency course in safety for the Data Center Technician program. Instruction moves from demonstration to supervised practice to independent performance in the lab and live systems, measured against vendor documentation and industry standards. Students configure, secure and troubleshoot real work in safety and keep a lab notebook signed off by the instructor.

• Explain the principles, terminology and standards that govern safety
• Select and safely use the tools, equipment and materials for safety
• Perform the core tasks of safety to the standard, within time, without rework
• Identify faults, hazards and non-conformities in safety work and correct them
• Document safety work in the lab notebook to industry format

An integrated, assessed piece of real work that draws on every trade course in Data Center Technician: planned, estimated, executed and documented by the student, reviewed by an employer advisor. Capstones are shown in the Student Yard or the Museum of VoTech where the work allows.

• Plan and estimate a complete job from a specification
• Execute the job to standard within the estimate
• Present the finished work and its documentation to an employer panel

Supervised placement with an employer partner in Data Center Technician work. Hours are logged against the certifying body's task list; the employer evaluates against the same rubric used in the shop.

• Perform the trade's tasks in a real workplace under supervision
• Meet employer expectations for attendance, safety and conduct
• Log hours and tasks in the format the certifying body accepts

Structured preparation for BICSI Installer; CNet CDCTP; CompTIA A+; CompTIA Server+; OSHA 10: content review mapped to the exam blueprint, timed practice exams, practical-exam rehearsal, and registration/eligibility paperwork with the registrar.

• Score ≥ 80% on two timed mock exams
• Complete the eligibility application and hours verification
• Rehearse the practical exam format to time

The program completion credential(s). Sat at the school's authorized testing center or the body's test site; results recorded in the student record and reported in the annual outcomes report. Pass standard: Credential issued by the body.