Trade Institute of Victoria (TIV) is proud to partner with Bowens who is sponsoring our new initiative – Student of the Month. Bowens is a fourth-generation family owned Australian business and market leader in supplying the largest variety of quality timber and building supplies in Australia. With 128 years experience in the industry, we thought they were a fitting partner to reward students for their hard work. Each Student of the Month receives a gift card from Bowens.
Cubby houses full of dreams
Mehmet Bozkurt laughs as he remembers building makeshift cubby houses as a youngster in Turkey. He says, “We used to take discarded lumber from construction sites near our home and build cubby houses with the neighbourhood kids. We also took old nails the construction workers left behind after pulling them out of used timbers and we’d straighten them, and collect all the odd ends of timber left on construction sites. And before you knew it we’d be building billy carts and cubby houses. We were quite industrious from an early age.”
That diligence, combined with a love of learning would see Mehmet compile an envious career resume. Having a Bosnian and Turkish background, Mehmet says his parents “value education a lot. And we were brought up that way – to always ask the questions, don’t take anything for granted, speak your own mind and think your own mind. We developed that principle early in childhood and have been inquisitive ever since. We were never constrained in attaining knowledge and making brilliant use of that.”
Mehmet has attained a Bachelor of Science majoring in pure and applied chemistry, before doing a Postgraduate Degree in Biochemical Engineering, specializing in fermentation technology. This saw Mehmet run a small brewery before being head hunted by larger breweries.
After this, Mehmet completed a Masters in Quality Management accelerating his move up the management chain. Eventually, he began his own consultancy firm which saw him provide auditing, training and specific management services to building, Defence, health and allied industries, as well as further extending his knowledge of all things construction.
TIV another chance to build on knowledge
Mehmet’s older brother suggested they study law together. He didn’t have long to live and it was something he had always aspired to. So Mehmet took up the challenge with him. During their first year of law, his brother also suggested they complete a CPC40110 – Certificate IV in Building and Construction which they did.
This brings us to Mehmet’s Trade Institute of Victoria (TIV) experience. Never one to rest on his laurels, his next challenge was a CPC50210 – Diploma of Building and Construction (Building) with a view to also getting his builder’s licence. Unfortunately, his Certificate IV, completed at another institution, was no longer valid. TIV recognised his past education and experience and allowed him to do a 4-unit upgrade which he completed before doing the Diploma.
Mehmet found TIV through a Google search and didn’t look back. Of his personal learning style, he says, “I kind of thrive better in a structured environment. I’m more a concrete learner and while I’m reasonably disciplined to do it independently, I do better with interactions.” Even though the course ended up being delivered via Zoom, Mehmet found it very engaging. He says “there was a wide range of disciplines or backgrounds for those who attended and we all learned from each other.”
The Diploma is quite comprehensive and Mehmet says his trainers, Peter G and David Stark among others, were “very knowledgeable and quite supportive. It was refreshing to see that no person was left behind in class.”
“Mehmet always provided his life experience on the topic that was being taught. Furthermore, his assessments went over and above what is expected of a Diploma student” – Peter Giannopoulos (TIV Trainer)
Student of the Month
Mehmet was a standout student earning him the Bowens award for Student of the Month in February.
Trainer Peter Giannopoulos says, “Mehmet always provided his life experience on the topic that was being taught. Furthermore, his assessments went over and above what is expected of a Diploma student, and for that reason, he is student of the month.”
Mehmet’s educational journey hasn’t finished. He is dabbling in hydrogen production infrastructure and has plans to do a Masters in Construction Law. He aspires to the Japanese model of management as well, where information flows from the bottom of the company to the top. By understanding building from the bottom up, Mehmet hopes to continue to communicate effectively, and organise and manage projects for optimum results.
We’re sure Mehmet will continue to scale great heights.
Congratulations Mehmet!
If you want to be a part of the TIV success story, please get in touch.
