English for Work Research

Who is collecting the information?

Edinburgh College is the Data Controller. We have an appointed Data Protection Officer (DPO) who can be contacted by emailing: dataprotection@edinburghcollege.ac.uk

If you have any questions about the research or your participation, please contact research@edinburghcollege.ac.uk.

Why are we collecting it, and what are we doing with it (Purpose)?

A key focus of Edinburgh College’s research activity is to investigate and promote the College’s positive social and economic impact. The purpose of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of our students, the organisations we work with, the effect of our English for Work programmes, and how they meet the needs of our students, communities, and the local economy. It also aims to understand what factors underpin successful English for Work programmes and, from this, derive recommendations for how Edinburgh College can enhance its provision in this area in the future.

We will collect data in several formats, including:

An online form where current and former students will be invited to reflect on the impact of their English for Work programme.
Interview with employers (that will be recorded and transcribed) to understand how the provision meets their needs and to seek their perspective on how language ability impacts recruitment challenges.
Interviews with current and former students (that will be recorded and transcribed) to understand how the provision meets their needs.

Data from these sources will be collated and analysed by Edinburgh College researchers, and the findings will inform a report on the impact of Edinburgh College’s English for Work programmes, which will be shared with interview respondents and published on the College’s website.

What personal data do we collect?

We will collect:

Name (forename and surname)
Email address
Your opinions and details of your experiences via Survey responses
Your opinions and details of your experiences via Interview responses

How are we collecting this information? What is the source?

Information will be collected directly from individuals via the online form and from the research interviews.

The lawful basis for the processing

Although we have sought agreement from you to participate in this research, the lawful basis under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) is Article 6(1)(e), “Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.”

The purpose and outcomes of the research contribute to the College’s core function as a public body.

Who we share the information with

Personal and/or research data will not be transferred or shared with any other organisation.

Access to your name, contact details and the survey and interview responses will be limited to relevant staff at Edinburgh College only.

All or part of the content of your survey and interview may be used in:

Academic or policy papers
Other outputs, such as reports or presentations

Any content or direct quotations made available through the above outputs will be modified so that you cannot be identified, and care will be taken to ensure that other information in the interview that could identify you or your organisation is not revealed.

How long do we hold the personal data?

Personal details (Your name and email address) will be collected to avoid duplicate survey responses. After checking for duplicates, this information will be deleted before analysis (unless you agree to be contacted by ticking the box at the end of the survey).

Survey responses, interview recordings and transcripts will be retained by Edinburgh College for 1 year following the publication of the report.

Contact details for those undertaking interviews will be held by the College until 10/10/2025.

Individuals’ rights in relation to this processing

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights; some of these rights only apply if certain conditions are met. Your rights are: right to be informed (e.g. privacy notice), right of access, right of rectification, right of erasure (commonly known as the right to be forgotten), right to restrict processing, right to object, right to data portability and the right to know of any automated decision making (including profiling). It’s worth noting that you can exercise your rights either verbally or in writing, and the College would be required to process your request within one month.

The rights that apply to this particular processing are:

Right to be Informed – i.e. a privacy notice.
Right of Access – this means you have the right to access your personal information.
Right to Rectification – this means you have the right to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
Right to Erasure – commonly known as the Right to be Forgotten (RTBF) – this means you can request that your personal data be deleted.
Right to Data Portability – this means you have the right to request your information in a machine-readable format (e.g. a .csv file) to be provided to you or transferred in that format to another organisation.
Right to Restriction – this means you can restrict the processing of your information and links with some of the other rights.
Right to Object – this means you can object to how your data is used.
Right to be informed of automated individual decision-making (including profiling) – we do not use this for OH purposes, and therefore this does not apply.

Some of the rights above have caveats and only apply in certain circumstances. You can exercise your rights at any time, and the College would be required to answer within a month upon receipt of your request. If you wish to exercise your rights or have any queries in relation to this, please contact the Data Protection Team at DataProtection@edinburghcollege.ac.uk.

Complaints to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

If you are concerned about how your personal data is being used by the College, in the first instance, please contact the College Data Protection Officer (DPO) at DataProtection@edinburghcollege.ac.uk. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, then you can complain to the regulator of data protection, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO guides on the ICO website.

You can email them at casework@ico.org.uk, call them on 0303-123-113, or you can send a letter to them at the following address:

Customer Contact
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF