Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy
Who We Are
Techskills is a not for profit organisation and the accreditation body for Tech Industry Gold.
We are the data controller responsible for your personal data.
If you have any questions about this policy, you can contact us at ryan.cousins@techuk.co.uk.
Information We Collect
- Information you provide directly, such as your name, email address, job title, organisation, and contact details
- Information submitted through forms, including applications, enquiries, or registrations
- Professional information such as experience, expertise, and qualifications where relevant
- Technical data such as IP address, browser type, and usage data where applicable
How We Use Your Data
- Assess applications, including Employer Network applications
- Communicate with you about your application, account, or enquiries
- Provide and improve our services and accreditation activities
- Manage relationships with learners, employers, and providers
- Send relevant updates where you have requested or consented to receive them
- Meet our legal and regulatory obligations
Lawful Basis for Processing
- Consent where you have given clear permission, for example, submitting an application or agreeing to be contacted
- Legitimate interests where processing is necessary for our organisational activities, including managing applications and maintaining the quality of our network
- Legal obligation where we are required to process data to comply with the law
Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal data.
We may share your data with:
- trusted service providers who support our operations, such as hosting or email services
- partners involved in delivering or supporting our services, where necessary
- regulatory or legal authorities where required by law
All third parties are required to handle your data securely and in accordance with data protection laws.
Data Retention
We only retain personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including:
- managing applications and relationships
- meeting legal, regulatory, or reporting requirements
When data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymised.
Your Rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- access your personal data
- request correction of inaccurate data
- request deletion of your data
- restrict or object to processing
- request transfer of your data where applicable
To exercise any of these rights, contact privacy@techskills.org.
Data Security
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services or legal requirements.
The latest version will always be available on this page.
Cookies Policy
What Are Cookies
Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device. Similar technologies, such as local storage, let a website save information in your browser itself. This section explains exactly what this site stores and why.
Your Choice
The only cookies that need your permission are our analytics cookies. When you first visit, a small banner asks whether you accept them — rejecting is exactly as easy as accepting, nothing loads until you choose, and the site works fully either way. You can change your mind at any time from our Cookies Policy page.
The Cookies We Use
Essential Sign-In Cookies
If you sign in to a learner account, we set a secure session cookie so you stay signed in, plus a short-lived cookie used only to complete the sign-in securely. These are set only when you sign in, are never used for tracking, and cannot be switched off while signed in because the service would not work without them. They do not need your consent because the service you asked for cannot work without them.
Analytics Cookies (Google Analytics 4) — Only With Your Consent
With your permission, we use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the site — which pages are read, how people arrive, and where they get stuck — so we can improve it. GA4 sets cookies (names beginning _ga) that assign your browser a random identifier. We do not use this for advertising: ad storage, ad personalisation, and ad user-data signals are all disabled at the code level. If you reject, or simply ignore the banner, none of this loads.
Apart from the above, this website sets no cookies.
Information Stored in Your Browser
Some features save your progress or preferences in your own browser's local storage so they are still there when you come back. This information stays on your device — it is not sent to us or to anyone else. Features that do this include:
- the programme comparison tray
- your career plan progress
- the career returners journey tracker
- your Insights Hub preferences
- the optional "personalise this site" profile, if you choose to set one up
You can clear this at any time by clearing your browser's site data for this website.
Performance Monitoring
We use Vercel Speed Insights to measure how fast pages load for real visitors. It is cookieless by design: it collects anonymous performance measurements only, sets nothing on your device, and cannot identify or track you.
Managing Cookies
You can change your analytics choice at any time from our Cookies Policy page. Most web browsers also let you control cookies and site data through your browser settings. Blocking cookies will prevent learner sign-in from working, and clearing site data will reset any saved progress or preferences, but everything else on the site will work normally.
Updates to This Cookies Policy
If how we use cookies changes, we will update this section — and anything new that requires consent will be added to the consent banner before it is switched on.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this policy or how your data is handled, please contact:
If you would like further details about how we handle your data, please contact our team and we will be happy to assist.
Need more information?
If you have any questions about our legal policies or how we handle your data, please don't hesitate to contact our legal team.
Email our DPO