Students Challenging Professional Barriers Win 3rd Place! Niigata College of Architecture, Interior and Manufacturing Achieves "Most 3 Winners" at the 1st Niigata Prefectural Carpenters' Association Shimoetsu Branch Skill Competition

Students from the Architectural Carpentry Department of Niigata College of Architecture, Interior and Manufacturing (Location: Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture; Principal: Toru Nitami), part of the NSG Group, participated in the "Reiwa 7th 1st Niigata Prefectural Carpenters' Association Shimoetsu Branch Skill Competition" held in December 2025, and won 3rd, 4th, and 5th places. While working professionals also participated in this competition, 3 out of 4 participants from our school won awards, making us the group with the most winners. This competition requires practical level skills such as wood processing accuracy and work speed, with participants including active carpenters competing for technical prowess. The awards ceremony, held on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at Niigata Toei Hotel, was attended by construction industry professionals from the prefecture, celebrating the achievements of the award winners. A student who won 3rd place from our school attended and received the certificate of commendation. 【Competition Results】 Our school's students achieved the following results. *Top 5 are eligible for awards 【3rd Place】 Renya Sugita (from Iiyama High School, Nagano Prefecture) "Although I'm disappointed because I aimed for 1st place, I was able to give my best. In the future, I want to participate in the WorldSkills Competition, further hone my skills, and become a carpenter who can play an active role on the front lines as a professional." 【4th Place】 Kaito Usuki (from Sado Sogo High School) "In the competition, I thoroughly focused on accuracy and carefulness to enhance completeness, and challenged myself while improving my skills with my peers. In the future, I want to work actively as a site supervisor." 【5th Place】 Yuki Uchiyama (from Maki Sogo High School) "It was my first competition, and I was nervous, but I was able to see it through to the end. I want to use this experience to further my growth." 【Instructor】 Sho Toyama, Architectural Carpentry Department "For this competition, I worked hand-in-hand with the students during practice. Seeing them come to school after hours and on holidays to dedicate themselves to practice, I am extremely happy that they were able to achieve such results. I hope that these motivated students will become leaders in the industry in the future." Our school boasts a practical environment, including one of the largest carpentry training facilities in Niigata Prefecture, and is also used as an examination venue for architectural carpentry skill tests. Furthermore, we have established an education system where each student can acquire high-level technical skills through direct instruction from active carpenters with extensive on-site experience. Under this environment, students can acquire practical-level carpentry skills while still enrolled. Since its establishment in 1994, our school has been dedicated to training technicians for over 30 years. Leveraging the strengths in education cultivated over these years, we will continue to foster human resources who can thrive in the construction industry through practical education. International Sogo Gakuen Niigata College of Architecture, Interior and Manufacturing Location: 2-1-4 Nagagata, Chuo-ku, Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture Principal: Toru Nitami Official Website: https://nit-web.net/ The NSG Group is a corporate group consisting of 101 corporations that primarily operate in education and medical/welfare/nursing care, with a wide range of other businesses including health/sports, construction/real estate, food/agriculture, trading companies, advertising agencies, ICT, hotels, apparel, beauty, human resources services, and entertainment. Aiming to make each region "the richest and happiest town in the world," the group is engaged in creating businesses that revitalize local communities, focusing on "people," "security," "work," and "attraction" from a private sector perspective. https://www.nsg.gr.jp/ Keywords: