AN EAST Lancashire college has been selected as one of only two in the county to join a pioneering nationwide £100million project.

Accrington and Rossendale College will be a vanguard Centre of Vocational Excellence in a pathfinder scheme funded by the Government's Learning and Skills Council.

It was chosen along with Lancaster and Morecambe College and just16 other colleges in the UK. They will be part of a three-year initiative designed to improve vocational skills among its students and equip them for the 21st century.

The aim is to encourage the further education sector to forge strong relationships with employers and to play a central role in meeting the current and future skills needs of the nation.

Steve Palmer, Executive Director of the Lancashire Learning and Skills Council, said: "I congratulate Accrington and Rossendale College on this tremendous achievement.

"I am delighted that Lancashire has two of only 16 Centres of Vocational Excellence in the country and I firmly believe that this reflects the very high standards of further education provision across the county.

"We need colleges that are fast-moving, first to respond to change and that can give both adults and young people access to the enhanced vocational learning they need to succeed in a modern economy. "Accrington and Rossendale College will lead the way in underpinning a modern further education sector, contributing fully to Lancashire's vocational skills and the drive to boost competitiveness."

The college has already achieved CoVE status for 'excellence' in its construction department, which is to get a new £8.5million base in September. A Learning and Skills Development Agency report pointed out that education and training in construction had experienced severe difficulties in raising quality.

In contrast, Accrington and Rossendale College had maintained and improved the quality of its work. "The centre is pro-active in meeting the needs of local industry," it stated. College principal Nancy Cookson, said: "It has always been our goal to respond quickly and appropriately to the needs of our community, providing training and education which makes a real and positive difference.

"The construction department, through its hard work, has shown that it is possible to develop strong links with industry, meeting their training requirements and providing students with an environment in which they can excel."

Clive Weston, head of construction, added: "Industry needs colleges in which they have confidence. They need to believe that vocational graduates will enhance and strengthen their organisations."

"By producing students who are not only capable, but excel in their abilities, colleges can gain the trust of industry, forging closer links and giving both young people and old the quality of education they deserve."

The CoVE initiative was first announced by the Government last November. The Learning and Skills Council has set a goal that, by 2004, about half of all general FE colleges in England will have at least one department that has achieved CoVE status.

The pathfinder colleges will come on stream from the start of the new term in September, when other colleges will be invited to submit applications for CoVE status.