From digital education to tech talent - how Hearts sponsor Stellar Omada is driving Scottish tech boom

Edinburgh-based IT business and Hearts shirt sponsor Stellar Omada is helping to bridge Scotland’s digital skills gap as it closes in on a £15 million revenue goal.

The capital firm’s recruitment division Stellar Connect, which was only launched early last year, is helping to drive revenues for the technology group, having already placed more than 40 people into senior tech roles. Handling both permanent and temporary contract staff, the new unit specialises in recruitment for roles in “change and transformation management”, software testing, networks, cloud migration and cyber security.

Stellar Omada, which focuses on business and technology transformation and programme delivery, marked its fifth anniversary last year and secured a £4.5m investment from BGF, formerly the Business Growth Fund, in September 2023. The group is on track to report revenues in the region of £15m for its 2024 financial year, an increase from £13.9m in 2023.

Stellar Omada managing director and founder Colin Frame. Picture by Stewart Attwood

The firm’s partnership with Hearts FC includes offering digital skills for young people via its Stellar Elevate division at Hearts innovation centre at Tynecastle stadium.

With a headcount now at 200, Stellar Omada continues to build its client base in the financial services sector, spanning banking, pensions and investment management, and including the likes of Royal Bank of Scotland and Hampden & Co. It also plans to increasingly target the public sector this year.

The group’s managing director and founder Colin Frame said: “The recruitment division is surpassing revenue targets and profit projections in its very first year. We’ve brought in some of the best people in the industry to run Stellar Connect, against a challenging market backdrop where many recruiters are contracting their teams.”

He added: “We have a longstanding interest in Scotland having the right kind of tech skills to compete on a UK and international basis, essentially borne out of challenges we’ve faced out on the coal face, so we’re pleased to be addressing this with both our Stellar Connect and Stellar Elevate, in addition to the main digital delivery services we offer at Stellar.”

At the time of the launch of its digital education programme, Stellar Elevate, last year Frame said: “As one of Scotland’s fastest-growing technology companies, we see first-hand the magnitude of the digital skills gap, how it can hold back the pace of growth, and ultimately top-line economic growth in Scotland. We saw CodeClan fold, so we lost the main provider of digital skills provision in this country and that’s a concern when you’re leading a tech business like ours.”

The fledgling Stellar Connect division ramped up its headcount during 2024 and has plans in place to add further staff in 2025.

Grant Fraser, head of Stellar Connect, said: “Our mantra is that if we think individuals are good enough for Stellar, if they’re the kind of people we would employ ourselves, then we’ve got that confidence that they’re going to do a great job for our clients.”

The Stellar Omada group leadership team also includes chief financial officer Zoe Lee and chairman Royston Hoggarth.

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