By completing four classes, students can earn an information technology-Microsoft data center certificate.
Students must pass two classes this fall and two in spring 2026 to obtain the new certificate. Tuition and fees are about $2,000 for two classes.
If students earn the certificate and pass industry certifications, they can apply for jobs at data centers, including the new Microsoft artificial intelligence data center that is scheduled to open next year in Mount Pleasant.
According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the company expects the data center to be fully operational by early 2026 and to hire about 500 full-time employees and contractors by the end of 2026.
The data center is part of Microsoft’s planned $3.3 billion commitment in the area.
The new certificate will be part of Gateway’s existing information technology and network associate degree program.
Gateway IT instructors will teach the certificate classes at the Racine campus.
There will initially be two courses each semester, but Matt Janisin, Gateway executive vice president of academic affairs, said that will almost certainly change in the future depending how many students are interested.
“It’s where we’re starting; it’s certainly not where we’re finished,” Janisin said. “This will continue to evolve. … We know this is an industry that’s going to be here to stay for a while and continue to grow in importance.”
Janisin said Microsoft reached out to Gateway more than a year ago about a new certificate.
Most of the curriculum was already in place, according to Janisin, but the college adjusted it in collaboration with Microsoft to offer the data specialist certificate.
Microsoft has “workforce needs, and that’s understandable,” Janisin said. “From a technical college perspective, this is the wheelhouse of what we do.”
Janisin said working with Microsoft on the certificate curriculum was an enjoyable, “relatively painless process.”
“As much as they could have just dictated down our throat what they wanted done, they took a much more collaborative approach, and we appreciate that,” Janisin said. “They’ve been really great partners.”
Working with Gateway on the certificate “underscores (Microsoft’s) commitment to equipping the workforce with the tools needed for success in an increasingly AI-driven economy,” the company spokesperson wrote in an email.
Microsoft helped design the coursework, but Janisin said the certificate will also allow students to work at other companies.
Janisin is interested to see how data center work evolves over time and said there could be more industry jobs going forward.
Gateway’s mission “is always to make sure that our local employers have the skilled workforce that they need,” Janisin said. “This is certainly an emerging industry, not just in our area but I think Wisconsin as a whole. … Perhaps there will be other companies that also view Wisconsin as a data center location, but right now we’re going to focus on supporting Microsoft and its initiatives here in our community. … It might be a new industry sector for the state of Wisconsin. It could be a cool future.”
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