In our commitment to honour our esteemed co-founder, Mario Biasin’s memory and uphold his passion for the building sector, Metricon is exceptionally proud to support the Building and Construction Foundation’s Mario Biasin Legacy Scholarships.
Our hope is that these scholarships will be transformative, significantly improving the lives of the recipients and providing them with the opportunity to pursue their goals. In this way, we aim to contribute to the lasting impact of Mario Biasin, ensuring that his influence continues to shape the future of the building and construction community.
We knew Mario’s legacy had to live on, which is why Mario’s proud daughter Michelle leapt on the idea of creating scholarships, as suggested by Rebecca Casson, former CEO of the Master Builders Association. “She and my father worked very closely together during the pandemic and became strong advocates for the whole building industry,” Michelle says. “Rebecca rang me and said she’d come up with a great idea, linking up with the Foundation, and our family thought it was an incredible way to preserve dad’s legacy.”
They created the Mario Biasin scholarships together, now presented annually during the Master Builders Victoria Awards. This year, Metricon matched generous donations by Incolink and Bunnings Trade to present the $20,000 Mario Biasin Leadership Scholarship to Mohammad Shinwari, and the $10,000 Career Advancement Scholarship to James Steer.
Mario’s granddaughter Lia says the scholarships honour her Nonno’s life journey. “He started out in Trieste, Italy, and at three years old, his parents fled to come to Australia for a better and safer life," she says. "Through school, he found his way into accounting and then, through his partnership with George Kline, at 25 years old and as a father of two, he founded Metricon Homes, which went on to become the biggest home builder in Australia today."
His drive to succeed, creating a business that's all about helping others to achieve their life goal of building their dream home, has created so much opportunity for others, Lia says.
"Through his adult life, he developed and nurtured this company to become something so bold and beautiful and something that creates affordable housing for anyone in any circumstances." Lia Crisfield
"And he was very passionate about building a home that he was proud to live in, proud to present to his parents… that drove all these decisions in life, remembering who he was and where he came from."
Michelle says the scholarships honour Mario’s legacy.
“He was a pioneer of his industry, well respected and inspirational, and he had the foresight, going back to 1976 with George, two young migrant men who had dreams and passions to create a better life for themselves, but also for other families.” Michelle Crisfield
Lia is proud of the scholarships and their recipients, saying they open opportunities to a new generation. “We believe, through giving someone a stepping stone where they can overcome their obstacles, there's no reason why they can't achieve whatever they want to."
Mohammad, currently studying project management at RMIT, aspires to be a project manager in the construction industry. Like Mario, his family fled great adversity in search of new beginnings. “I come from a non-English speaking background and a refugee family from war-torn Afghanistan in 2007," he says. "Having challenges of coming to Australia with the cultural differences and the language barrier makes it hard to learn everything from scratch, and my parents left everything behind.”
Mohammad is the first person in his family to pursue higher education.
“What motivated me to pursue my career in building and construction was the opportunity to transform communities and cities.” Mohammad Shinwari
The scholarship is transformative, as Mohammad has to support his parents, who are retirees, and his extended family. "It's a tremendous support, so I can access resources and gain skills and that way I will realise my aspirations.”
James grew up in Albury-Wodonga and is currently studying construction management at RMIT after a gap year working in the industry. "Seeing what that company, the Joyce Group, did for the local community with sponsorships, buildings, and supporting the region was the reason I wanted to do this, to give back as well."
But it was challenging to settle into Melbourne for James, too. "It was a bit of a struggle for me to find where I was going to stay, accommodation-wise, and fund my university fees,” he says, with the scholarship changing the game for him. “The extra funding allows me to put myself in a position where I can really put my university degree first and not have the stress of balancing work and university at the same time."
Like Mohammad, James wants to help build better communities for all. “It doesn’t really matter where you’ve come from if we’re all there for the same reason and we all have the same goal of making the world a better place, especially in the construction industry,” he says. “I want to be able to work with people alongside me no matter what our differences are.”
“It doesn’t really matter where you’ve come from if we’re all there for the same reason and we all have the same goal of making the world a better place, especially in the construction industry. I want to be able to work with people alongside me no matter what our differences are.” James Steer
