This privacy statement relates specifically to those individuals undertaking apprenticeship programmes and the organisations that sponsor and support them. Additionally, as apprentices studying at the University, our Student Data Privacy Statement will also apply to the use of personal information for apprentices whilst you are studying with us.
Confidentiality
The University of Westminster takes its data protection obligations very seriously. Access to any organisational or personal information given to us when expressing an interest in our apprenticeship courses or when making an application to study an apprenticeship programme or enrolling and studying with us on an apprenticeship programme is subject to a staff confidentiality agreement. Access to and use of your personal information is limited in any specific circumstance to only those staff and administrators who need that access to manage and respond to your apprenticeship status.
This privacy notice explains what we do with your organistional and personal information you give us to study on an apprenticeship programme, how we protect it and your rights.
Personal data
When you apply to undertake an apprenticeship programme at the University, we will require you to declare and give us evidence your eligibility to do so. We will also capture your commitment to the programme, along with that of your employer and ourselves, record a specific Apprenticeship Agreement between you and your employers and the appropriateness of the apprenticeship and your occupation.
As part of our apprenticeship application personal information gathering, we may ask you about your ethnicity and health. When we do so, we will capture your consent to process this information.
Use of your personal data
We will use the information you give us to assure your eligibility for your apprenticeship programme, contact you during this process and record your apprenticeship status and documents for internal and external apprenticeship reporting and auditing purposes. We may use your information for wider internal management reporting but when we do we will aggregate it for statistical purposes and no individual will be identifiable.
Legal basis for processing and retention
When you give your personal information to the University we are processing it to enable you to enrol onto an apprenticeship programme with the University with the agreement of your employer. Any processing of your personal ethnicity or health information will only be done with your consent. For any questions relating to the processing of your personal data please contact [email protected].
Your Individualised Learner Record (ILR) will be submitted to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) under the provisions of Article 6 (1) (e) as a task carried out in the public interest regarding the Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009. See Data Transfers and Sharing below.
Your personal data will generally be retained for six years following the end of your study relationship with the University.
For further details relating to apprenticeship records see The Education and Skills Funding Agency
Profiling and automated decision making
During the apprenticeship application process, applicants will be required to undertake Initial Assessments online in English and maths. These assessments produce a result based on the information and answers provided by the apprentice during the online Initial Assessment process.
See the BKSB privacy notice for details.
The apprentice applicant will get a breakdown of their result following their online assessment, so that they can see how the outcome was reached. If an individual felt that the outcome of the assessment was not an accurate reflection of the information provided, they should contact the apprenticeships team via [email protected].
The Apprenticeship Team do not use any other automated decision-making processes – that is, decisions made by computer without human intervention – related to your application and eligibility to join an apprenticeship programme.
Data transfers and sharing
The University, as a publicly funded Higher Education Institution, must collect data about learners and learning undertaken, in the form of an Individualised Learner Record (ILR). This data is collected and returned to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), acting on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE).
For more information on the ILR and how the ESFA and the DfE use your information, please see:
- GOV.UK: Individualised Learner Record (ILR)
- GOV.UK: Privacy notice for Key Stage 5 and adult education
- GOV.UK: Department for Education - Personal information charter
Additionally, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) is responsible for the inspection of apprenticeships and reviewing the quality of the training provision. For more information please see:
- Ofsted Guidance: Further Education and Skills Handbook
The University also shares personal data with third parties involved in the delivery of apprenticeships and with consultants who quality assures our processes.
Based on the agreement you have signed, any non-attendance at scheduled training sessions will be reported by name to your employer. Additionally, your progress will be discussed with both yourself and your employer in the tripartite progress review.
Other than where stated above, none of your personal information is shared by the University with any other third-party organisation other than when allowed by UK law.
Where services involve a third party processing your information, such services will be covered by a contract, and details of the services and the legal mechanism for any data transfers outside the EU and EEA can be initially requested from [email protected].
Your rights
If you have any questions relating to your personal information and your information rights, including right of access, rectification and erasure, please see the University’s data protection web pages.
Or contact the University Information Compliance Team at [email protected].
You can also contact the Information Commissioners’ Office in relation to any concerns or issue you may have with the processing of your personal information.
Last reviewed and updated July 2023