If a data-centre technician moves to Poland, their home certificate will not be enough to work in a data centre. The document the site needs is a świadectwo kwalifikacyjne, the qualification certificate the trade calls an SEP certificate. Without the right group and voltage printed on it, a technician cannot legally operate, maintain or sign off the switchgear, the UPS or the generator. For a colocation director, or a fund financing a Polish data centre, this is a commissioning constraint, not an HR preference.
What the law actually requires
SEP is the Association of Polish Electrical Engineers. It is not the name of the licence. Commissions approved by the Energy Regulatory Office, URE, issue the certificate after an oral exam. SEP runs many of those commissions, which is why the name has stuck. The duty sits in the Energy Law and in the Climate and Environment Ministry regulation of July 1, 2022. URE is clear on the point that matters for a data centre in Poland: the President of URE appoints the commissions and does not issue the certificate, and a certificate lasts five years.
G1, E and D, and what each one covers
Three groups. G1 is electrical. G2 is heat. G3 is gas. Each splits into E, eksploatacja, and D, dozór. E is the hands-on certificate: operation, maintenance, repair, installation, measurements. D is the supervisor certificate: the person who directs the electricians and signs the work off. The certificate only covers the voltage and the tasks printed on it. “G1” is not a pass for every piece of equipment in the building.
| Equipment | What the ad actually asks for | Who holds it |
| LV switchgear, UPS, PDU, busbar, to 1 kV | G1 E up to 1 kV | Electrician |
| MV intake, transformer, above 1 kV | G1 E above 1 kV | Senior electrical / commissioning |
| Signing equipment back into service | G1 D, matched to the voltage | Facilities lead, shift supervisor |
| Chillers, heat rejection | G2, where the scope includes it | Mechanical / HVAC |
| Gas | G3, rare on these sites | Specialist contractor |
What live hiring already requires
Electrical vacancies on hyperscale and colocation builds in Poland ask for G1 E to 1 kV as standard and treat D or anything above 1 kV as preferred. An Epcido data-centre electrician ad asks for E to 30 kV and D to 20 kV, or a willingness to obtain them, plus UPS, STS/ATS, PDU and generator experience. However, server, cabling, and network vacancies are still filled without the certificate. The certificate is required for electrical and facilities vacancies. It is not required for server, cabling or network vacancies.
Why a foreign certificate does not transfer
This is the shortage Poland is hiring into. Equinix’s own polling found that 33 percent of data centres were short of electricians and 30 percent were short of mechanics. A single centre runs on a shift team of dozens, and a campus needs many more. For instance, a foreign certificate is not accepted in its place. A UK 18th Edition, a German Meisterbrief or a US journeyman certificate does not qualify the holder to work on a live floor in Poland. The worker still has to sit the Polish exam. EU mutual recognition runs the other way: A Polish certificate can be put forward abroad. It is not an automatic pass in a foreign data centre.
What to check before a start date
Check the group, whether it is E or D, the voltage limit, the expiry date, and whether measurements are printed on the certificate. If it does not cover the equipment the candidate will work on, they cannot start in the first week.
We set out the wider Warsaw hiring picture in Poland’s Data Centre Workforce. The certificate is one of the important elements needed to decide whether the electrical technician vacancy can be filled.
Verita HR works with employers building and staffing technical operations across Poland, including the electricians and facilities specialists a data centre cannot open without. If you are weighing opening a Polish site, or you are actively trying to fill an electrical vacancy in one, get in touch with Verita HR.
