A new partnership is looking to provide a valuable resource to Scotland’s young people and help to create technology career pathways.

Stellar Omada, in collaboration with Heart of Midlothian FC, looks to support women in tech, digital education in young people and the wider Scottish economy and communities.

The company revealed plans to work alongside the Scottish club to build on the success of the Heart’s Innovation Centre’s Digital Academy and get young Scots interested in future tech careers.

The Heart’s Innovation Centre provides a range of digital education programmes that hope to inspire Scottish youths to develop digital skills whilst using technology creatively for a purpose.

Working alongside delivery partners, schools, and leaders, the centre is using the reach and popularity of football to attract and engage learners.

Stellar will provide financial support as well as designing content for the cohorts, mentoring, and supporting of the weekly sessions.

Over the period of 2020 -2021, the academy has seen 620 club registrations, delivered over 115 Google Classroom Activities, has had 61 guest speakers and presenters, and has delivered 25 devices to families in local communities.

Through the Scottish Government Kickstart Scheme, which supports 16-to-24-year-olds who are at risk of long-term unemployment, the self-named ‘Stellar Rookies’ are a group of nine young people who joined the company Stellar in July 2021.

Over a six-month period, the ‘Rookies’ have been working to gain the skills to make them ’employable’ in the future. The nine young people are working towards a formal testing qualification to make them permanent employees at Stellar at the end of the period.

Commenting on the ‘Stellar Rookies’, Colin Frame, Stellar Omada CEO, said: “We are massively invested in our people and our talent, whether it’s through our ‘Rookies’ or our graduates, we are looking to create a conveyor belt of raw and great talent, bringing them through the various grades to provide one of the best Scottish technology learning curves for a lot of the people that join Stellar and really leave with the Stellar badge as we go.”

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At a recent event hosted by Stellar Omada, Dr Kelly Gardner, Digital Education Programme Manager at Heart of Midlothian Innovation Centre, gave an overview of the Digital Academy and its recent Tynecastle Digifest.

The summer programme has, so far, had a big impact on Scottish communities, reaching 71 postcodes (64 of which were from Edinburgh and the Lothians) and having over 40 schools represented.

However, most significantly, 34% of all attendees during that period were girls, showing that the initiative’s outreach is having a positive effect on young females and succeeding in boosting their interest in future tech careers.

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