History

In 2012, the Department of Labor issued a $24 million TAACT grant to a group of colleges and universities in the SE Atlantic region.

The purpose of the grant was to develop among other things, training, course curriculum, syllabus and certification programs to address the needs of the job role skills gap in data center operations.

The role of that development work fell to Cleveland Community College in Shelby, NC.

Over the course of the 3-year grant period more than 50 Industry experts (End users, Engineers, Consultants, Manufacturers, etc.) came together to work with Cleveland CC and created what is now known as the Certified Mission Critical Operator (CMCO) program.          

The certification program is an exam based agnostic foundational level certification.  

The exam focuses primarily on Engineering and Operating disciplines as well as IT basics along with addressing the unique acronyms of the industry.