Martin Mello was only looking for a summer job in July, but he dived into an entirely new field and has come out on top.

He is the first Bermudian and one of only a few hundred people worldwide to attain an advanced computer certification on the Citrix system.

Mr. Mello achieved the feat in only three months, a move being lauded by his employers Systems Business Integration (Sbi).

Obtaining the Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator certificate enables Mr. Mello to install, configure and administer Citrix MetaFrame, WinFrame and Management Services.

"This is a global certification,'' said Sbi CEO Jamie Thain, "so this can take Martin anywhere in the world. He has exceeded our expectations achieving such a difficult certification so soon. We are very pleased and proud of his performance.'' The Citrix product is an add-on component to Windows software which drastically reduces the number of computers needed in an office. The technology is currently being used by Capital G and means that only a computer screen, a keyboard and small terminal unit are needed at the desk of an employee.

The Citrix system allows all screens to be served by one main computer.

The Citrix system also enables companies to operate remotely. And, according to Mr. Thain, is being used by several international businesses in Bermuda.

"There are over 2,000 users of Citrix on the Island and well over 1,000 licences have been sold using this technology here,'' he said.

Mr. Thain pointed out that Mr. Mello was now well-equipped to handle this growing area but he said there was a shortage of computer systems professionals.

Computer feat "There is a lot of competition to find even someone willing to convert to the field,'' said Mr. Thain.

"It is a lot of hard work and the sort of people who would become actuaries, doctors and lawyers are the same sort of people who would need to study this type of work,'' he continued.

"It is that challenging.'' Very cool about his accomplishment, Mr. Martin said that when he talked with Mr. Thain in July, he was only looking for a summer job.

"But he ended up offering me a full-time permanent position,'' he said.

"Once Martin told me that he was looking at possibly going to DeVry to study computer systems, I said to him to come to the `Sbi institute','' Mr. Thain recalled.

"We are very keen to have Bermudians on board and we will train them,'' he said.

"We can provide $2,000 a year scholarships for people who commit to us.'' Always looking for people, he admitted to trying to recruit his census taker earlier this year.

"I asked her if she was interested in systems, and told her that she seemed like a really nice lady and that we could put her in a training programme,'' he said.

Mr. Martin is still in a mentor programme Mr. Thain set up for him at Sbi and will next be working on obtaining his certification with Microsoft as a systems engineer.

He works under the tutelage of Sean Wallbridge MCSE I, MCT who helps him in the field with his `hands-on' experience.

"He is working out very well but the process of bringing him up to middle management level will take about five years,'' Mr. Thain said.

Anyone interested in a career as a computer systems engineer, even those with no experience can contact Mr. Thain at Sbi tel 292-7072.

"There is a worldwide competition for systems people, we'll talk to anyone interested even if they have no experience,'' he said.