Privacy notice: Ethnic Disparities and Apprenticeship Participation Among Young People in England

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) has been commissioned by the Youth Futures Foundation to conduct qualitative research to develop a stronger understanding of young people from minority ethnic groups’ experiences of apprenticeships.

In line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we need to let you know how your information will be processed for this study. In this privacy notice, we explain: 

  • the legal basis for data processing;
  • who will have access to your personal data;
  • how your data will be used, stored and deleted; 
  • what your rights are according to UK GDPR, and  
  • who you can contact with a query or a complaint.

Who’s who?

Youth Futures Foundation have funded NatCen to carry out qualitative research to understand young people from minority ethnic groups’ experiences of apprenticeships. 

You can find out more about these organisations using the following links:

Youth Futures Foundation: https://youthfuturesfoundation.org/ 

The National Centre for Social Research: https://www.natcen.ac.uk/ 

What is the legal basis for processing data?

NatCen are the data controller for this project. This means that we are responsible for deciding the purpose and legal basis for processing data. In order for the use of personal data to be lawful, we need to meet one (or more) conditions in the data protection legislation, as set out in Article 6(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). 

Our legal basis for processing the data is ‘legitimate interest’. This means that we believe that there is a genuine reason for us to process this data (to understand young people from minority ethnic groups’ experiences of apprenticeships), that this data is needed to fulfil this purpose (we could not conduct this research without this information), and that using this data will not interfere with individuals’ interests, rights or freedoms. 

For the focus groups with young people, the recruitment agency Criteria will also collect information about ethnicity. This is called special category data. Only researchers at NatCen will have access to the special category data that you give to us. We will not share this information with anyone else. 

Our legal basis for processing special category data is ‘substantial public interest’ under the sub-category of ‘equality of opportunity or treatment.’ This means that we believe that this data will contribute to the public interest and this data is necessary to identify or review the existence or absence of equality of opportunity or treatment between groups of and to enable such equality to be promoted or maintained.

You can contact NatCen with any questions about the processing of data at edap@natcen.ac.uk.

You can read more about NatCen’s general privacy policy here: https://natcen.ac.uk/privacy-policy

Who will have access to personal data?

Named individuals in the NatCen research team will have access to recordings and transcripts of focus groups. All focus groups will be carried out by the research team with individuals’ consent. All interview transcripts and responses will be anonymised before being analysed.

Criteria will collect participants’ contact details as well as ethnicity information in order to facilitate focus group recruitment and sampling. They will secure share this information with NatCen.

McGowan Transcriptions is the transcription service NatCen uses to transcribe interview and focus group data. We will securely transfer audio-recordings to McGowan. They will have access to recordings and transcriptions from all interviews. McGowan is on NatCen’s approved suppliers list and is compliant with all of our information security policies.

How will the data be used?

The data collected will be used for research purposes only. Information gathered from focus groups will be used to answer research questions about the experiences of young people from ethnic minority groups’ experiences of apprenticeships.

During the study, NatCen will store and manage all data securely and confidentially. Only named individuals in the research team, along with our third-party transcription service provider and the fieldwork recruitment agency, will have access to the data.

At the end of the study, in October 2024, NatCen will write a report summarising the research findings. The report will not identify any individuals who took part, unless we have explicit permission to do so. All personal information, and any other data held, will be securely deleted one year after the study is completed (i.e. October 2025).

Do I have the right to withdraw permission?

You have the right to withdraw your permission for data processing at any time and you do not have to justify or explain why you are doing so. To withdraw your permission, please contact the study team at edap@natcen.ac.uk.

If you withdraw your permission, we will stop processing your data. For any data that you have provided up to that point, we will remove the original data. If the data has already been aggregated with other responses as part of our analyses for the final report, we will not be able to disaggregate your data. However, you would not be identifiable in the aggregated results.

Who can I contact with a query or a complaint?

If you have any questions about how your personal information will be processed as part of this study, please contact the NatCen research team at edap@natcen.ac.uk or on 0808 168 2153.

If you have any concerns about how your data is used, you can contact NatCen’s Data Protection Officer at dpo@natcen.ac.uk.

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Please go to www.ico.gov.uk for more information.