Privacy Policy

Paragon Education & Skills Limited are committed to protecting and respecting any personal information you share with us.

This statement describes what types of information we collect from you, how it is used by us, how we share it with others, how you can manage the information we hold and how you can contact us.

We will always give you the option not to receive marketing communications from us. We will never send you unsolicited ‘junk’ email or communications, or share your data with anyone else who might. We do not sell your information to third parties.

The contents of this statement may change from time to time so you may wish to check this page occasionally to ensure you are still happy to share your information with us. Where possible, we will also contact you directly to notify you of these changes.

This version of our Privacy Statement is live from 10^th May 2018.

What is the GDPR

The GDPR is a regulation intended to strengthen and unify data protection for everyone within the European Union (EU). The GDPR requires greater openness and transparency from companies on how they collect, store and use personal data, while also imposing tighter limits on the use of personal data.

How do we use this information?

We will only process information that is necessary for the purpose for which it has been collected. You will always have the option not to receive marketing communications from us (and you can withdraw your consent or object at any time). We will never send you unsolicited ‘junk’ email or communications, or share your personal information with anyone else who might.

— More detail —
There are various ways in which we may use or process your personal information. We list these below:

Consent
Where you have provided your consent, we may use and process your information to:

Contact you from time to time about promotions, events, products, services or information which we think may be of interest to you (don’t worry, we won’t bombard you);

To share your personal information with our recommended third party partners, so that they can contact you with information around apprenticeship opportunities.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at enquiries@pgon.co.uk or, in relation to any marketing messages you receive, by using the unsubscribe option included in those messages.

Contractual performance
We may use and process your personal information where this is necessary to perform a contract with you and to fulfil and enrolment to an apprenticeship or to find an apprentice.

Legitimate Interests
We may use and process your personal information as set out below where it is necessary for us to carry out activities for which it is in our legitimate interests as a business to do so.

Processing necessary for us to support apprentices, employers and other enquiries

To respond to correspondence you send to us and fulfil the requests you make to us (for example: vacancies and openings, graduates, open days);

To provide levy and funding support (for example help calculate allowances);

Processing necessary for us to respond to understanding apprentices’ and employers’ needs

To analyse, evaluate and improve our products and services so that your visit and experience of our website, applications and services are more useful and enjoyable (we will generally use data amalgamated from many people so that it doesn’t identify you personally);

To undertake market analysis and research (including contacting you with customer surveys) so that we can better understand you as a customer and provide tailored offers and services that we think you will be interested in. We will only send marketing communications to you if you have provided your consent for us to do so or which we have obtained in the ways mentioned in the paragraph below;

For product development purposes (for example to improve delivery of learning);

Processing necessary for us to promote our business, brands and products and measure the reach and effectiveness of our campaigns

To send you marketing information from time to time after you have completed your apprenticeship or had an employee who has graduated. We will only contact you with information about our own products and services (and in ways the law allows), which we hope you will like. You have the right to object to us sending you this information at any time;

To contact you from time to time with marketing information (unless you object) if you have expressly indicated to us that you are acting on behalf of a business or an online or public business directory. In relation to any such information we send by email or SMS, we will include an option allowing you to object to receiving future messages by unsubscribing;

To identify and record when you have received, opened or engaged with our website or electronic communications (please see our Cookie Policy for more information);

Processing necessary for us to operate the administrative and technical aspects of our business efficiently and effectively

To verify the accuracy of information that we hold about you and create a better understanding of you as a customer;

For network and information security purposes i.e. in order for us to take steps to protect your information against loss, damage, theft or unauthorised access;

To comply with a request from you in connection with the exercise of your rights (for example where you have asked us not to contact you for marketing purposes, we will keep a record of this on our suppression lists in order to be able to comply with your request);

To inform you of updates to our terms and conditions and policies.

Legal Obligation
We may process your personal information to comply with our legal requirements (for example to register your apprenticeship application with the ESFA).

Vital Interest
Sometimes we will need to process your personal information to contact you if there is an urgent change to funding rules and we need to tell you about it.

How long do we keep your information for?

We will not hold your personal information in an identifiable format for any longer than is necessary. If you are a customer or otherwise have a relationship with us we will hold personal information about you for a longer period than if we have obtained your details in connection with a prospective relationship.

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We do not retain personal information in an identifiable format for longer than is necessary.

If we have a relationship with you (e.g. you are a learner registered on an apprenticeship programme), we hold your personal information for up to 9 years from the date your apprenticeship ends. We hold your personal information for this period to meet Education & Skills Funding Agency (EFSA) contractual requirements. If your programme is partially funded by the European Social Fund we will hold your personal information until we are instructed to destroy it by the ESFA in line with ESFA contractual requirements, this is expected to be around December 2030.

Where we have obtained your personal information following a request for information, enquiry or any other information on any of our services, we hold your personal information for 2 years from the date we collect that information, unless during that period we form a relationship with you e.g. you sign up to an apprenticeship. We hold your personal information for this period to give us an opportunity to form a relationship with you.

The only exceptions to the periods mentioned above are where:

The law requires us to hold your personal information for a longer period, or delete it sooner;

Where you have raised a complaint or concern regarding a service offered by us, in which case we will retain your information for a period of 6 years following the date of that complaint or query; or you exercise your right to have the information erased (where it applies) and we do not need to hold it in connection with any of the reasons permitted or required under the law.

What information do we Collect?

We collect information about you when you engage with our website or apply for apprenticeship application. We only collect information which is necessary, relevant and adequate for the purpose you are providing it for.

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We collect information about you when you use Paragon Skill’s website or make an application and our apprenticeship systems. Some of this information does not identify you personally, but provides us with information about how you use our services and engage with us (we use this information to improve our services and make them more useful to you). The information we collect includes some or all of the following:

Name (including title);

Address;

Phone number;

Email address;

The date and time you used our services;

The pages you visited on our website and how long you visited us for;

Your IP address;

Your GPS location (where you have permitted access to this);

The internet browser and devices you are using;

Cookie, Pixels or Beacon information (for more information please see our Cookie Policy);

The website address from which you accessed our website;

Where you engage with us in a business context;

“Live chat” records; and

Any information within correspondence you send to us.

How do we share this information?

We do not sell your information to third parties, but we do work closely with our third party suppliers who fulfill business activities for us (like application management, learning portal, events and market research etc.)

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We do not sell your information to third parties. However, we may from time to time disclose your information to the following categories of companies or organisations to which we pass the responsibility to handle services on our behalf: EFSA, vacancy management, direct marketing communications agencies and consultants, market research and market analytics service providers, our legal and other professional advisors.

We take steps to ensure that any third party partners who handle your information comply with data protection legislation and protect your information just as we do. We only disclose personal information that is necessary for them to provide the service that they are undertaking on our behalf. We will aim to anonymise your information or use aggregated none specific data sets where ever possible.

How can you manage the the information we hold about you?

You have the right as an individual to access your personal information we hold about you and make corrections if necessary. You also have the right to withdraw any consent you have previously given us and ask us to erase information we hold about you. You can also object to us using your personal information (where we rely on our business interests to process and use your personal information).

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You have a number of rights in relation to your personal information under data protection law. In relation to most rights, we will ask you for information to confirm your identity and, where applicable, to help us search for your personal information. Except in rare cases, we will respond to you within 30 days after we have received any request (including any identification documents requested).

You have the right to:

Ask for a copy of the information that we hold about you;

Correct and update your information;

Withdraw your consent (where we rely on it).

Object to our use of your information (where we rely on our legitimate interests to use your personal information) provided we do not have any continuing lawful reason to continue to use and process the information. When we do rely on our legitimate interests to use your personal information for direct marketing, we will always comply with your right to object;

Erase your information (or restrict the use of it), provided we do not have any continuing lawful reason to continue to use and process that information;

Transfer your information in a structured data file (in a commonly used and machine readable format), where we rely on your consent to use and process your personal information or need to process it in connection with your contract.

You can exercise the above rights and/or manage your information by contacting us using the details below:

By post: Data Protection Officer, Bournemouth Technology Centre, Station Approach, Ashley Road, Bournemouth, Dorset BH1 4NB

By email: dpo@pgon.co.uk

By phone: 0800 783 2545