Aim is to attract more to career in social care.

The Centre of Vocational Excellence (Cove) in Adult Social Care aims to increase the number of private sector care workers who hold an NVQ qualification and to improve the profile of the caring professions as a high status career.

This particular Cove is a regional collaborative initiative made up of three core partners led by Bishop Auckland College and including Stockton Riverside College and Middlesbrough College.

The body was awarded full Cove status last July after being approved by the Learning and Skills Council. This means funding is now secure and the Cove is on track to make a real difference to the sector.

It provides high quality vocational learning that is demand led, engages with employers and is clearly meeting sector priority skills needs. The Cove also acts as a catalyst for the spread of good practice in the region.

Each candidate is allocated a personal assessor who determines their individual needs and together they formulate a programme to develop their knowledge and achieve an NVQ qualification in a realistic time (normally six to eight months).

The learning and assessment takes place in the workplace at times to suit everyone and is flexible and innovative in approach.

A paperless portfolio is used, with a laptop computer supplied to support progress. All employers need to supply is an internet connection for the employee to upload their work. Other support can be embedded if it is required such as literacy, numeracy and IT.

The Cove is also involved with schools and colleges in promoting a variety of routes into care. It is developing a range of qualifications from foundation level to specialist diplomas and masters' in management, social work and nursing.

It also wants to encourage a greater range of our society to consider a career in care.

So far, the Cove has increased the number of learners of all ages achieving level 2 or level 3 qualifications and gaining jobs. Many new employers have started using Cove services, with several new courses delivered at the request of employers.

It has held numerous good-practice events that have been open to all providers, including standardisation of assessment, e-learning, using the paperless portfolio and peer coaching in partnership with the Quality Improvement Agency as part of the Teaching and Learning National Change Programme.

The Cove welcomes feedback and has formed an Employers' Forum to guide its activities. Visit the website www.carecove.org or contact Cove manager Marian French on [phone] or email [e-mail]

How can the Cove in Adult Social Care benefit employers?

* It focuses on qualifying your staff to excellent standards with minimal disruption to business.

* It has introduced other support mechanisms, such as literacy, numeracy and IT skills.

* It ensures its assessors have significant experience in the sector, working for colleges that have been judged to be excellent in their standards.

* It is trying to find solutions to current issues, for instance recruitment and retention of staff, availability of training, single points of contact and clinical updating.

How can the Cove in Adult Social Care benefit employees?

* It operates a work-based training model to achieve an NVQ. Visits are arranged in the workplace at a time to suit the employee and the needs of the clients and employer.

* It identifies the employee's individual needs and formulates a personal plan to plug any knowledge gaps and assess skills in a time frame to suit the employee.

* It supports the employee with technology. They are given a named assessor, who is issued with a mobile phone, and the employee has access to a laptop computer, digital cameras, recorders and notepads.

* The worker's evidence can be stored electronically.

* The Cove has bought a paperless portfolio and space on a server. The employee's portfolio is therefore slim and focused.