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Founded in 2023, the ABC San Diego Chapter (ABCSD) Young Professionals Mentorship Program is a free benefit for ABC San Diego members created to support the next generation of construction leaders. The program connects emerging professionals with industry leaders and peers in a collaborative environment focused on mentorship, relationship-building, and career development.
Participants receive guidance, support, and encouragement as they work toward their personal and professional goals. Through the program, mentees are paired with experienced mentors who serve as trusted advisors and sources of inspiration.
The 2026 program runs from May through November, and mentee applications close May 11, 2026. We invite you to be part of a program designed to help build your future in the construction industry.
ABCSD’s Young Professionals (YP) program aims to shape the future of our industry by supporting the growth of young professionals employed by ABC members. The program creates opportunities for young leaders to build relationships, expand their skills and advance their careers while continuing to promote open competition and the merit shop philosophy.
Young Professionals
Mentoring is a special partnership between two people or group based on commitment to the mentoring process, common goals/expectations of partnership, and mutual trust and respect. Mentoring is a “get and give” relationship with the goal of providing both partners with rich, rewarding experiences.
As a mentee in our program, you will be paired with an experienced mentor who will serve as your trusted advisor, sounding board, and source of inspiration. In addition, you will meet regularly to discuss your challenges, opportunities, and aspirations and to receive feedback, advice, and encouragement.
Whether you are seeking to advance your career, start a business, or pursue other personal or professional aspirations, our program can help you get there. We are confident you will benefit from participating.
Each of our mentors were hand-selected for their depth of experience and contributions to their company and ABC San Diego. All of our mentors have a minimum of 15 years of experience in their field and hold positions of influence within their company or industry.
Join the Program
Mentee applications close May 11, 2026. If you miss the cutoff date, contact us and we will try to accommodate.
The information on your application will be used by the Young Professionals Committee to match you with a mentor.
Your best people make your business better, stronger, and more fun to run. Nominating them for the 2026 EIC Workforce Awards is completely FREE, so there’s no reason not to give credit where credit is due.
These awards recognize the professionals who make this industry what it is. This year`s categories:
👷 Project Manager of the Year
👷 Superintendent of the Year
👷 Tradesperson of the Year
👷 Young Professional of the Year
If you`ve got someone on your team who consistently goes above and beyond, this is your chance to make sure they`re recognized for it.
1️⃣ Download and complete the appropriate nomination form
2️⃣ Submit by the August 15 deadline to events@abcsd.org
3️⃣ Get your tickets for the Gala on October 3rd at Kona Kai Resort
Nominate your strongest player today: LINK IN BIO FOR MORE INFO
#ABCMeritShopProud #TrustedExpertise #ChampionForGrowth #BuiltOnFamily #SanDiegoConstruction
A healthy company culture doesn’t always look pretty.
Birthday cards and appreciation weeks feel good, but they aren`t what builds a good company culture. That happens when leaders embrace employees as whole people.
People are overwhelmed, juggling more than the job, and that doesn`t disappear when they clock in. Real leadership means creating space for people to say "I`m not okay," and backing it up with real support like personal days and mental health resources.
That`s exactly why we`ve partnered with @confyde.io, to help us spot when our people need support before they have to ask.
🎧 Find Coastlines to Cranes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
#ABCMeritShopProud #CoastlinesToCranes #ChampionForGrowth #BuiltOnFamily #PeopleCenteredLeadership
The ABC San Diego Excellence in Construction Awards have 50 categories you can submit under, and this year submissions are FREE!
If recognition for your team`s hard work has been on your 2026 goals, now is your time to get in the game.
With 50 different categories and dollar-tier combinations across General Contractors and Specialty Contractors, there`s a strong chance something on this list fits the work your team has been putting in. Electrical, Mechanical, Public Works, Institutional, Health Care, Sitework, and more- your project has options.
Projects must be completed by Oct. 1, 2026, to qualify, and submission is completely free. From there, all that`s left is joining us on October 3 to celebrate this year`s winners and 50 years of ABC San Diego.
🏆 Submit your project by August 15: https://abcsd.org/excellence-in-construction/
#ABCMeritShopProud #TrustedExpertise #ChampionForGrowth #BuiltOnFamily #ConstructionExcellence
Blueprints tell you what to build. Joseph makes sure ABC San Diego members know how to build it with the latest technology.
He`s the one scouting new tech and testing how it fits into construction, most recently VR training.
But the search doesn`t stop with him. Students bring their own ideas about what technology should come next, and Joseph takes those suggestions seriously. That back-and-forth is what keeps the apprenticeship program, and ABC San Diego`s members, ahead of where construction tech is headed.
This is what it means to build the next fifty years together.
#ABCMeritShopProud #BuiltOnFamily #TrustedExpertise #SkilledTrades #ConstructionTech
Cheers to our July member anniversary honorees, the contractors, suppliers, and industry professionals who keep the merit shop thriving all year long. 🏗️
#ABCMeritShopProud #ABCSDMembers #SanDiegoConstruction #ABCSD
We like it better when the spotlight`s on you 😂 ABC San Diego’s Excellence in Construction Award submissions close on August 15.
Everything you need to know is on our website.
Mark your calendar: August 15 is the deadline to submit your project(s) and nominate your workforce team for this year`s Excellence in Construction Awards.
This fall, we`re celebrating the best of our industry, both the outstanding projects and the people who bring them to life. Contractors can submit project work and nominate their workforce team for FREE.
📅 August 15 — Deadline to submit projects and workforce nominations
🎉 October 3 — Excellence in Construction & 50th Anniversary Gala (tickets available after August 15)
💻 Everything EIC — ON OUR WEBSITE, LINK IN BIO
We can`t wait to celebrate the work and the people who make San Diego what it is.
#ABCMeritShopProud #ChampionForGrowth #BuiltOnFamily #ConstructionAwards #SanDiegoConstruction
CMMC is becoming a baseline expectation across the Defense Industrial Base, and our partners at @egnyte_inc are helping contractors get ahead.
Join us for a FREE webinar breaking down what Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification actually requires, how to determine if your work involves FCI or CUI, and how to calculate and submit your SPRS score. You`ll also get a clear look at Level 2 documentation requirements and what auditors are looking for, plus live Q&A with Egnyte`s cybersecurity experts.
Whether you`re actively working DoD contracts or exploring the defense market, this session will help you understand where you stand and what to do next.
🎟️ Register now: https://workforce.flashpoint.xyz/Lite/Event/Register?eventId=1294171000
#ABCMeritShopProud #TrustedExpertise #ChampionForGrowth #ConstructionCompliance #CMMCCompliance
There`s a private school in Austin, Texas where parents are paying up to $70,000 a year in tuition for their kids to be taught by AI facilitators.
Before writing that off, consider the WHY. 🛑
Students working with an AI-facilitated instructor aren`t afraid to ask questions. They get answered like a one-on-one tutor, no hesitation, no fear of being wrong in front of the room. That`s the gap AI-facilitated instruction is closing, and why parents are investing in it.
San Diego trades are exploring the same opportunity, which is why we have partnered with @globaletraining to give members access to AI-facilitated instruction across 26 programs, including Autodesk, Bluebeam, P6, and more.
This is your invitation to explore if AI-facilitated learning can support your business growth.
ABC San Diego members interested in what opportunities are available through Global eTraining can reach out to our Continuing Education department at:
📧 ce@abcsd.org
🎧 Find Coastlines to Cranes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
#ABCMeritShopProud #CoastlinesToCranes #ChampionForGrowth #SanDiegoConstruction #ConstructionTechnology
Most construction teams have already tried AI. Few have moved past copy-pasting prompts into a chat window.
Join us for a FREE webinar with Rowan Steel-Hall, COO of @smartbuildcan, as he breaks down a five-stage framework for putting AI to work in real construction workflows, from RFIs and meeting minutes to daily reports and document review. Expect a live demo and a practical action plan you can bring back to your team the same week.
Whether your team is just getting started with AI or ready to move toward automation, this session will help you find your next step.
🎟️ Register now through the link in our bio
#ABCMeritShopProud #TrustedExpertise #ChampionForGrowth #ConstructionTechnology #AIinConstruction
Ten years ago, Jorge Martinez was working in a shop. Today, he owns Martinez Heating & Air.
He was 28, with a family, when his boss gave him a shot to move from the shop into the field and encouraged him to enroll in ABC San Diego`s apprenticeship program. Full-time on the job, part-time in the classroom, four years of commitment that led him to establish his own business.
Jorge saw the potential the trades offered his family, and he wanted to make good on the opportunity his boss had given him. After graduating from the program, he took the leap to open his own company, @martinezheatingandair.
This is why Associated Builders and Contractors offers Earn While You Learn: for people ready to build a career and a family at the same time, no matter when they start.
#ABCMeritShopProud #BuiltOnFamily #TrustedExpertise #SkilledTrades #HVACCareers
Every great accountant knows that the true story of a business lives between the lines of a spreadsheet.
Chad Fischer, Senior Tax Manager at @aldrichadvisors, has a favorite part of his job. It`s not the tax savings (although he`s good at that too). It`s learning how a business started and grew into what it is today. That story is what turns a company from a spreadsheet into something alive, and connects him deeper with the people behind it.
Businesses are an extension of our humanity, carried through the generations that build them, the employees they support, and the communities they serve.
🎧 Find Coastlines to Cranes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
#ABCMeritShopProud #CoastlinesToCranes #ChampionForGrowth #BuiltOnFamily #ConstructionFinance
Some of the best lessons in the trades don`t come from a jobsite. They come from standing next to someone else chasing the same gold.
Joseph represented ABC San Diego at this year`s National Craft Championships in Sheet Metal. For him, the biggest win wasn`t the competition itself, it was the people in the room with him. Tradespeople from across the country, all chasing the same standard, all willing to talk shop, share how they solve problems, and push each other to get better.
That`s the part he keeps coming back for. Not just the chance to test his skills against the best, but the relationships built along the way, with people who take the craft as seriously as he does.
We`re proud to send Journeymen to NCC every year to compete, connect, and keep raising the bar together.
#ABCMeritShopProud #BuiltOnFamily #TrustedExpertise #SkilledTrades #SheetMetal
10 days out, and this boat only holds so many of us! 🛥️
The 5th Annual Construction Harbor Cruise is back and open to EVERYONE.
It’s the perfect excuse to get your team out on San Diego Bay for some summer networking. Good views, great company, and a whole lot of ways to build connections that matter.
🎟️ RSVP on our website
📍 Triton Charters, Shelter Island
🕓 Thursday, July 16 | 4:00–7:00 PM
💲 Members $90 | Non-Members $125
#ABCMeritShopProud #ChampionForGrowth #BuiltOnFamily #SanDiegoConstruction #ConstructionCommunity
Happy 4th of July from ABC San Diego! 🇺🇸 This year is extra special. We`re celebrating America`s 250th birthday alongside our own 50th anniversary of championing merit-shop contractors, fair competition, and the builders who keep San Diego growing.
Here`s to 250 more years of America, and 50 more years of ABC San Diego 🎆
Our office will be closed Friday, July 3rd, and we`ll be back Monday, July 6th. Enjoy the holiday weekend with family, friends, and maybe a beach day or BBQ!
#ABCMeritShopProud #4thofJuly
Game on, North County! 🏈⚾🏀
Grab your favorite jersey and join us for our Regional Happy Hour on Thursday, August 6 at BELCHING BEAVER BREWERY INC in Vista. Stop by anytime between 3 and 6 PM for food, drinks, and good conversation with fellow industry pros.
🗣️ Members, prospects, contractors, and suppliers all welcome!
🏈 Theme: Sports Fan Day
Rep your team colors, jersey, hat, or fan gear. Football, baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, doesn`t matter, we`re excited for you to bring the spirit!
It`s free to attend. Food and drinks are on us.
👉 Register: https://workforce.flashpoint.xyz/Lite/Event/Profile/1303083000
hashtag#ABCMeritShopProud hashtag#ChampionForGrowth hashtag#BuiltOnFamily hashtag#SanDiegoConstruction hashtag#ConstructionCommunity
It`s almost the 4th of July!! 🎇 We bet you`re thinking about food, drinks, games, music… and maybe health insurance?
Here`s the thing: behind every great backyard cookout, there`s someone who spent the morning marinating, prepping, and making sure there`s enough ice. Every good thing has an equal and opposite amount of behind-the-scenes work that makes it possible.
ABC San Diego handles the 401Ks, health coverage, benefits navigation, and prevailing wage support so small and mid-sized contractors can stay focused on the work that actually moves the needle.
And honestly? We don`t mind the tedious part one bit. Just ask Shandon Harbour and Corey Klinke of West Coast Group Benefits.
👉 Learn more about ABC San Diego membership on our website.
🎧 Find Coastlines to Cranes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
#ABCMeritShopProud #CoastlinesToCranes #ChampionForGrowth #SanDiegoConstruction #ConstructionBusiness
Marcus didn`t choose plumbing as a fallback. He chose it as a foundation.
Through @pacific_rim_mechanical and ABC San Diego, he`s building more than a trade. He shows up to class every day with a positive attitude and serious attention to the material because what he learns in the classroom he applies on the jobsite.
His real plan is bigger than just graduating from the apprenticeship program. Marcus is planting seeds to someday be his own employer, and he sees the same opportunity for anyone in his life who`s still figuring out their direction, encouraging them to give the trades a real look.
The trades were never a smaller choice. They`re a real path to building something of your own, big enough to outgrow what a degree alone can offer.
#ABCMeritShopProud #BuiltOnFamily #TrustedExpertise #SkilledTrades #FutureContractor
Managing crew travel is one more thing on an already full plate. 😩
So we partnered with @gowithengine, giving members who want to streamline crew travel one less logistical headache to deal with. Book hotels, flights, and rental cars in one place, keep billing consolidated, and track travel costs by job code without the back-and-forth.
Members also get access to pre-negotiated hotel rates averaging 26% in savings.
We`re always looking for ways to make running your business a little easier!
Reach out to our Membership team if you have any questions:
📧 membership@abcsd.org
#ABCMeritShopProud #ChampionForGrowth #BuiltOnFamily #SanDiegoConstruction #ConstructionBusiness
Some events check a box. Meet the Generals built pipelines through real connections and conversations.
We were proud to co-host this event alongside the @wcc.sd and bring together some of San Diego`s top General Contractors and subcontractors for a day built around one thing: putting the right people in the same room.
A huge thank you to @pacific_rim_mechanical for opening their doors and making it happen.
And shout out to every member, volunteer, and committee member who helped bring this one to life!
📸 See the full event gallery on our website.
We`ll be back, GC`s. 🤝
#ABCMeritShopProud #ChampionForGrowth #BuiltOnFamily #MeetTheGenerals #SanDiegoConstruction
Join us on our annual Harbor Cruise happening July 16th!
This event is open to industry professionals at every stage of their career this year and space is limited so don’t wait until the end to grab your ticket!
🚢 Link in bio!
#abcmeritshopproud #championforgrowth #trustedexpertise #constructionnetworking #sandiegoconstruction
Walking into a room full of admirals, elected officials, and executives can stop you in your tracks before you even say hello.
Jennifer Hopper, Community Affairs Manager at ABC San Diego, has a reframe for that: they`re just people. They have their own stress, their own insecurities, their own battles. They got up that morning and had to motivate themselves too.
That one shift is what makes the difference between standing at the edge of the room and actually building the connections that move your business forward.
It`s the same belief that drives how ABC San Diego shows up: events and partnerships built to close the gap between people, businesses, and the community they`re all trying to serve.
🎧 Coastlines to Cranes — link in bio.
#ABCMeritShopProud #CoastlinesToCranes #ChampionForGrowth #SanDiegoConstruction #ConstructionPodcast
Ten years ago, Steven founded Electronic & Telecom Systems, Inc. A year in, he was already doing prevailing wage work and navigating apprenticeship compliance without much of a roadmap.
That`s when ABC San Diego reached out and invited him to tour the facility. No pitch, just come see what we have. What he found was a program that actually solved the problem he was sitting with and a community that knew how to navigate the system and wanted to help him do the same.
Today, Steven serves as Chair of ABC San Diego and his company uses the apprenticeship program as a recruiting pipeline and a way to invest in his people. New hires go in and come out state-certified in their craft, earning the whole way through.
If you`re running a small trade business and you`re figuring it out as you go, that`s exactly who we`re here for.
The resources are real.
The support is real.
And we`re cheering on your success.
#ABCMeritShopProud #BuiltOnFamily #ChampionForGrowth #SkilledTrades #ElectricalContractors
Wish there was a way you could check compliance before submitting permits? Then give Energy Code Ace’s Virtual Compliance Assistant (VCA) a whirl!
The VCA is a tool to help you complete your forms and verify compliance. It creates Certificates of Compliance and Certificates of Installation for nonresidential, hotel/motel, high-rise multifamily (NRCC, NRCI) and low-rise multifamily (LMCC, LMCI) projects. Create an account and check it out today!
🔗 https://energycodeace.com/content/project-tool/
#Nonresidential #Compliance #EnergyCode #Code #Tool
This could be your first STEP toward an Excellence in Construction Award! 🏆
STEP is ABC`s free safety program, open to every member. Reach Gold, Platinum, or Diamond level and you qualify for Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status, ABC`s national mark of excellence in safety, quality, and leadership.
And speaking of excellence, whatever you`ve built this year belongs in the running for Excellence in Construction this October. AQC status gives your submission a little extra edge. 😉
👉 Learn more on our website
#ABCMeritShopProud #TrustedExpertise #ChampionForGrowth #ConstructionSafety #SkilledTrades
By popular demand, we`re opening up the Construction Harbor Cruise to everyone! What started as a Young Professionals event is now open to all members and non-members.
Join us Thursday, July 16 from 4 to 7 p.m. aboard Triton Charters for an evening on the water with fellow ABC San Diego members and industry leaders. Take in the San Diego skyline, enjoy tapas, sip on drinks, and connect with the people building this region.
🛳️ Includes passage, tapas, and 2 drink tickets
📍 Triton Charters, Shelter Island
🎟️ Members: $90 | Non-Members: $125
👉 Tickets: link in bio
#ABCMeritShopProud #ChampionForGrowth #BuiltOnFamily #SanDiegoConstruction #ConstructionEvents
Small businesses make up 98% of San Diego and employ 60% of the workforce.
These aren`t corporations. They`re your neighbors: at church, at little league, at the PTA, and at the table next to you at your favorite local spot. Community members who showed up, took a risk, and started employing others.
Where other major metropolitan areas are anchored by large corporations and enterprise, San Diego runs on the contractor who started as an electrician, the plumber who built a crew, the small firm that`s been serving this region for decades.
ABC San Diego exists for them. Because we know the challenges small and mid-sized contractors face, and we know exactly what they bring to our region.
🎧 Find Coastlines to Cranes on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
#ABCMeritShopProud #CoastlinesToCranes #ChampionForGrowth #BuiltOnFamily #SanDiegoSmallBusiness
We’re proud to recognize our June Member Anniversary honorees and the members who continue to be part of ABC San Diego’s story.
As June brings the summer energy and we reach the halfway point of our 50th year, we’re proud to recognize the companies growing with us and shaping the future of our industry. ☀️
#ABCMeritShopProud #ABCSDMembers #SanDiegoConstruction #ABCSD
Congratulations to the ABC San Diego Class of 2026! 👏🎓🎊
This group crossed that stage having earned every early morning, every late night, and every long hour that got them here. You showed up, you put in the work, and it paid off. We couldn`t be prouder of what you`ve built and where you`re headed.
To the families and friends who came out to cheer them on — thank you! Your support means more than you know, and it shows in every one of these graduates.
And to our incredible sponsors who made this celebration possible:
🔹 Electronic & Telecom Systems, Inc.
🔹 Laser Electric, Inc.
🔹 @milwaukeetool
🔹 Collins Plumbing Inc.
🔹 @pacific_rim_mechanical
🔹 SJ Electric Company
🔹 @hpsplumbingservices
This is what community looks like. Onward, Class of 2026!
📸 See what moments we caught at graduation on our website.
#ABCMeritShopProud #BuiltOnFamily #ChampionForGrowth #SkilledTrades #ABCSDClassOf2026
Israel is in a 4-year program, through a scholarship, on the way to a credential, already earning while he learns. Are we talking about college or trade school? 🤔
The structure sounds familiar: choose a focus, find a way to pay for it, surround yourself with people who push you. The difference is that a college degree can point you in a dozen directions depending on your level, your network, and a little luck. In trades, the credential and the career are the same thing.
In Israel`s case, the people around him aren`t just classmates. They`re journeymen, business owners, and contractors who`ve already done what he`s working toward.
Programs like this exist nationwide through @abc_national , and the results speak for themselves. 🔧
#ABCMeritShopProud #BuiltOnFamily #SkilledTrades #EarnWhileYouLearn #Plumbing @youngprofessionals_abcsd
