Thirty-three-year-old Solomon Bleary is a computer network technician and a furniture maker who states that he believes in being flexible and in preparing to switch career tracks as fate makes this necessary.

Currently, however, he is running on both tracks, teaching computer skills to student nurses in their Eastwood Park school - Eastern School of Practical Nursing - while turning out highboys and other furnishings for Williams Furnishings on Hanover Street downtown.

On a Tuesday in early December, Bleary told Careers, "I have 25 highboys (chests of drawers) to be completed by tomorrow and they will be done."

A 1993 graduate of Spanish Town Secondary School, Bleary was first taught woodwork at this institution and held several jobs in the field in both Spanish Town and Kingston after leaving.

Always possessed by an interest in further training, however, he was among the first batch of locals to enrol in NCTVET training for woodwork in 1995.

Bleary subsequently found employment with the woodwork and factory-training programme in Allman Town - an enterprise run by Canon Weeville Gordon of St Matthew's Church and Renford Shirley, eventually becoming an instructor at the training facility.

"Mr Shirley saw my potential in 1996 and hired me to be a facilitator," Bleary recalls.

The next nine years were spent as a tutor. Bleary benefited from further scholarships from HEART Trust/NTA, which permitted him to acquire skills in computing.

He recalls: "When I first went to train at Infoserv, I did not even know how to use the mouse. The instructor spoke about RAM and I heard RUM. I was that clueless, but I said I would learn. I was determined to learn."

Bleary said that as skilled as he was at woodwork, he was equally fascinated by computers.

Natural ability

The first course done was com-puter repairs, followed by data entry and then by a practicum in networking. He discovered that he had a natural ability in the field.

"I was influenced by the actor McGyver who made me realise it was possible to do and be many things. His story also showed me that if you had more than one skill, the possibility of getting a job would be easier. Employers are also impressed when you are multi-skilled. It means you come to the job with assets."

Bleary recalls that he had also attended a career conference held by psychologist Leahcim Semaj who told attendees, "The world is changing and you need to change with it."

Bleary believes, "Tomorrow's world is going to be based on new technology. It will be very different from today. You have to keep up with the times or be left behind."

In 2006, Bleary decided to start his own business, which included computer repairs, tutoring and an Internet café. Starting up, he said, involved purchasing several computers and using them experimentally in preparing for full-time work as a technician.

Operating on Red Hills Road, the new business could not generate enough cash to cover costs and soon Bleary moved all his computers back home to Spanish Town.

He, nevertheless, says, "I learned how to manage a business and to cope with difficult times." He has learnt to manage his funds in three accounts, including one he labels 'rainy days', which he never touches.

In 2008, he returned to woodwork to acquire funds to resuscitate his business, which is now being pursued with partner Chester Coke, selling and repairing computers as well as offering Internet services.

"I have come full circle," he states.

Bleary produces furnishings on a flexible schedule and also provides services for clients who need help fixing their computers. He also teaches student nurses on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

In the future, he states, he hopes to offer database training. "There are many people who can't even use a mouse or keyboard. There is a lot of interest from people who want to learn."

avia.collinder@gleanerjm.com