BACIF commits to apprenticeship training for 12 footballers

Brass Aluminum and Cast Iron Foundry (BACIF) Limited is willing to accept 12 footballers into its trainee programme, where they will be tutored over a 12 to 18-month period.

This disclosure was made Tuesday by the Managing Director of BACIF, Peter Pompey, who indicated the training would be focused on life skills geared to develop rounded players.

“We have to look at the development of football and our young people in totality and within that realm, BACIF was willing to offer 12 young persons an opportunity to train in a lifelong skill, which can substantially contribute to their well-being and future development,” Pompey expressed.

According to Pompey, BACIF, a premier manufacturer of ferrous and non-ferrous castings for over 50 years, is a master trainer under the Board of Industrial Training, the authority for apprenticeship programmes.

The programme will be for footballers 18 years and older and while it would welcome players who have subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), those without “will not be discarded” since the training curriculum “will bring them up to an acceptable skill that will be valuable for the future.”

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) would be tasked with shortlisting these players. President Wayne Forde welcomed the news and said it was a vital step in players transitioning after a life on the field.

The GFF Head indicated they will use a similar vetting process they undertook with another apprenticeship partner recently, as they search for players with good character to be part of the programme.