A TAUNTON college has collected a top award for excellence in developing the skills of care workers.

Somerset College of Arts and Technology has been awarded Centre of Vocational Excellence status in Residential Care.

And last week Alison Scott, principal of SCAT, was presented with the CoVE plaque by the LSC's Partnership Director, Sally House.

Alison said: "There was a high degree of involvement from employers when the CoVE was being planned which enables it to be very employer-focussed and responsive."

For the past year SCAT has been delivering a range of packages for local companies to meet the needs of their employees.

The CoVE programme is financed and run by the Learning and Skills Council as part of a government initiative to meet the skills needs of the nation and was set up in 2001 to encourage further education colleges to develop vocational skills and become more closely involved with local businesses.

Jo Matthews, deputy principal and dean of higher education told the Gazette: "This is our third Centre of Excellence that we have achieved. It is great recognition for all the staff and the partners.

"This is recognition that together we can make a much greater impact.

"We are really trying to ensure people have the opportunity to reach their potential. The college does a lot of really good stuff and getting a kite mark like the CoVE helps the rest of the community to see what we do."

The aim of the programme is to provide flexible training that best suits the needs of employers - it could be anything from a one-day course to long-term training, leading to National Vocational or other professional qualifications.