Privacy Policy

Careers Scotland is part of Skills Development Scotland (SDS).

SDS is committed to protecting the privacy of customers and website visitors. A relationship with you is valuable and importance you place on the privacy and security of information, which personally identifies you, is understood. In that respect, and whether you are a first time visitor to this website or a regular user, your privacy will be taken seriously. Please read the following in order to learn more about this site’s privacy policy and our information gathering and dissemination practices.

1.Why your information is required

SDS provides a variety of online offerings, including information about all Careers Scotland services and publicity. SDS collects personally identifiable information when you register and use their services. Personal data is only required when it is needed to provide goods or services you have enquired about or asked to be provided or to respond to your request for information. You do not need to provide personal data simply to browse the site.

SDS uses this information in order to customise the content you see on our pages, to fulfil your request for certain products and services, to communicate with you generally and to contact you about special offers, promotions or new events and services.

2.What information is collected?

Information will be collected from you in the following circumstances:

Registration

Some areas of the website require you to be registered with us prior to access being made available to a particular area of the website or to obtain certain services. The registration process involves providing your name, address, telephone and fax number and e-mail address and some further optional information may be requested. This information will be used to provide you with the service you have requested or to answer your queries. If you do not log on to the site for a period of 180 days, your registration details and any other details stored at that time e.g. CV details, will be deleted. You will be reminded of this at 90 and 150 days of inactivity. If you have logged on to the site always ensure you log off correctly once you have used it.

Promotions and Events

You will be kept informed of developments including new (or existing) activities, guidance services and facilities, promotions, conferences, seminars and training offerings. This service is only available to registered users and only if you request it.

Online Advice

Where online advice and guidance are offered, in particular cases, you will be required to provide additional information about yourself such as contact details in order for your enquiry to be processed and to follow up your queries. Other information can be provided by you in order to help you get the best possible advice for your circumstances but this is entirely voluntarily provided.

Contest and Surveys

From time to time users may be offered the option of participating in contests or surveys. Participation is entirely optional. Any information you provide during the course of a contest or survey is used in order to conduct research, improve facilities and services or award prizes. Additional terms and conditions may apply to contests, which will be notified to prospective applicants.

Optional Information

You may be asked for optional information on registration forms. This optional information is required to serve you better (e.g. to provide more tailored products and services to you) and so that users may be better understood (e.g. through internal research, data analysis, market research and product research). If this additional information is requested it will be identified as optional.

Discussion Forums

Users of the website are offered the opportunity to participate in discussion forums and posting news, comments and other content to message boards. These services enable users to interact easily with staff and other visitors to the site about Careers Scotland and its services. The discussion forums and message boards are not private forms of communication and therefore any information that is posted on them can be accessed by the general public.

Cookies

There are various technologies, including one called &lquo;cookies&rquo; which can be used to provide you with tailored information from a website. A cookie is a small data file that certain websites write to your hard drive when you visit them. The only personal information a cookie can obtain is information a user supplies themselves. A cookie can't read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. Cookies, however, enhance our website performance in a number of ways including providing a secure way to verify your identity during your visit to our website and personalising your experience on our site making it more convenient for you. The Careers Scotland website uses cookies so it can serve you better. For example, cookies maintain the open menus as you move between pages. These are used only when you are on the website. You can refuse cookies by turning them off on your web browser and you do not need to have cookies turned on to successfully use the service. Most browsers are defaulted to accept and maintain cookies and you can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you the chance to decide whether to accept it or not.

Website Usage Data

With or without cookies, the website keeps track of usage data, such as the source address that the page request is coming from (i.e. your IP address, domain name), date and time of the page request, the referring website (if any) and other parameters in the URL (e.g. search criteria). This data is used to better understand website usage so as to know what areas of the website users prefer. This information is stored in log files and is used for aggregated and statistical reporting but is not attributed to you as an individual.

Security

The site recognises industry standards and uses security safeguards to protect information from unauthorised access and misuse. The most accurate and current information you provide is used in order to process your request.

User Submissions

Please do not post confidential or proprietary information to this website. Any material, information or any other communication you transmit or post to the website (other than your personal information) will be considered non–confidential and non–proprietary unless you advise to the contrary and the host will have no liability for it. SDS will be free to copy, disclose, distribute, incorporate and otherwise use the communications in all data, images, sound, text and other things embodied therein for any and all commercial or non–commercial purposes. Users of the website are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from this site any unlawful, threatening, libellous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate any law.

3.What information may be shared?

There are times when your information may be shared with other parties. It is not sold or rented to others but will send personally identifiable information about you to other companies or people in the following situations: –

Agents

SDS will share your information with professional advisors, strategic partners, survey and research organisations, The Scottish Executive, local enterprise companies and other individuals and organisations employed to perform functions in certain situations on its behalf. Examples of these functions include delivering packages, sending postal mail, sms, faxes and e–mail, providing marketing assistance in data analysis, handling credit card transactions, fulfilling orders, providing services, (including but not limited to careers and employment services) and following up on enquiries (including by phone, e–mail, post, sms or fax). These agents have access to the personal information required in order to perform their functions but may not use it for any other purpose. This may also in certain circumstances involve the transfer of your information abroad.

Compliance with law

Personal information will be released where required by law or by the regulations and other rules (including auditing requirements) to which the hosts are subject. Information may also be exchanged with other companies and organisations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Consent

Other than in the above situations you will receive notice when your personal information might go to third parties and you will have the opportunity to decide not to share that information.

4.Changes to Privacy Policy

This policy may be edited from time to time. If any substantial changes are made you will be notified by a prominent announcement on the web pages.

5.Questions or suggestions

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding this policy, have any concerns about the practices of the websites or believe properly adhering to privacy policy is not being properly observed, please contact Web Services Manager, Careers Scotland, 150 Broomielaw, Atlantic Quay, Glasgow, G2 8LU (FM to confirm this is correct address Should you at any time wish to remove your personal details from the database please contact the Website Administrator – webadmingen@careers-scotland.org.uk (FM to confirm this is correct web address and provide URL.)

6.Your Rights

You have the right to ask for a copy of the information held in records in return for which you may be charged a small fee. You also have the right to demand the right to correct any inaccuracies in information.

7.Client Confidentiality

A policy on how Careers Scotland staff should deal with confidential information about clients is now in place. The policy covers all service users – individuals, employers, and training providers and other agencies and organisations.