Student Gabriel Jones is quickly honing his talent for software development, thanks to an internship at Bermuda IT business Fireminds.

The 14-year-old, who attends Saltus Grammar School, spends every Thursday afternoon in the company’s Reid Street office, where he is close to completing a new app called TimeSheets.

“It’s a time-tracking app, where companies record how much time each of their employees spends on a different task,” Gabriel said. “I spent a lot of time learning how to make it.”

Gabriel, from Paget, began at Fireminds 13 months ago, after his parents met CEO Michael Branco at a dinner party and mentioned their son’s burgeoning interest in computer science.

A few weeks later, the family bumped into Mr Branco again — this time walking down a New York street — and he personally invited Gabriel to intern with his company.

“I was very excited, of course,” said Gabriel, a recent finalist in the under-25s category at the Bermuda TechAwards for TimeSheets. The teenager has not decided which field he would like to specialise in just yet, instead choosing to learn a broad spectrum of technologies, nor is he sure what his next project will be at Fireminds.

But Gabriel, a Grade 7 violinist who also enjoys running, is delighted at how far he has managed to progress during his internship.

“I started off with barely any knowledge about software development, and now I’m able to create full-fledged apps and web services,” he said.

“Michael has given me a lot of help and suggestions, and my time at Fireminds has really given me a stepping stone for software development in the future.”

Mr Branco said: “I’ve been very impressed with Gabriel’s skills as a software developer. We have him working on a real world problem and he’s doing a great job.

“Our Bermuda office is 100 per cent Bermudian, so it’s great to see a young Bermudian thriving in technology and allowing us to be a part of his growth.”