Privacy and POPIA Policy

Atamelang Training Academy (Pty) Ltd, trading as ATA Training Academy (ATA), registration number 2018/463212/07, is responsible for personal information where it decides why and how that information is processed. This policy explains how we handle information relating to our website, learning services, programme delivery and business development work.

Physical address: 33 Brandt Street, Andrew Gouws Building, Kroonstad, 9500. Website: www.atatrainingacademy.co.za. Information Officer: Adv. Mokoteli. For privacy enquiries and requests, email admin@atatrainingacademy.co.za, marked “Privacy — Information Officer”, or call (065) 752-9651.

The policy covers visitors, applicants, independently paying learners, interns, programme participants, enterprise clients and contacts at employers, funders and partner organisations. A programme-specific notice may provide additional detail. If ATA handles information on another organisation’s instructions, the relevant arrangement must identify the parties and their responsibilities.

Enquiries and purchases: names, contact details, account information, orders, payment references and correspondence help us answer questions, administer purchases, provide learning access and resolve support requests. Independent purchase of a skill, stage or the complete Employability Method does not by itself require the same records as a funded placement.

Applications and programmes: ID documents, qualifications, CVs and relevant eligibility information help us assess applications, verify eligibility and administer placements or funded learning. Attendance, progress, assessments and completion records support delivery, reporting and verification. Banking details may be needed for a relevant payment, stipend or refund arrangement; they are not required for every interaction.

Disability and health information may be collected where relevant to an accommodation, participant support, safety or a lawful programme requirement. We must identify an applicable authorisation for special personal information and limit collection and disclosure to what is necessary. A funder’s request alone does not establish that every medical detail may be collected or shared.

Business development engagements may involve owner/contact details and information needed to assess and support a business. Website and platform use may generate device, connection, access and activity records for service operation and security. Photographs and testimonials have a separate publicity purpose, addressed below.

Information comes from you, your use of our services, and, where lawful and relevant, an authorised purchaser, employer, host, funder or programme partner. We explain required fields and any applicable legal requirement when collecting information. Without essential enrolment or eligibility records we may be unable to provide the relevant service or assess an application. Optional publicity or marketing permission is not a condition of ordinary learning access.

Depending on the activity, we process information to perform or prepare a contract with you, meet a legal obligation, protect a relevant legitimate interest, or act on consent. We must identify and document a suitable ground for each purpose. Where consent is the ground, it must be informed and voluntary, and may be withdrawn for future processing. Another lawful ground may justify retaining particular records; we will explain this where relevant.

ATA’s learning offerings are intended for people aged 18 and older. If we discover that information about a child has been supplied, we will assess whether it can lawfully be held and take appropriate action. General acceptance of website terms is not blanket consent to sensitive information, marketing or unrelated uses.

Information may be provided to a host employer, funder or programme partner where necessary and lawful for the relevant programme, placement, payment, monitoring or audit. The records depend on the particular funding arrangement. Before disclosure, ATA must check the purpose, recipient and minimum information required. We must explain the relevant recipients or recipient categories through the programme’s collection notice. A funding agreement does not remove participants’ POPIA rights.

For example, a host may need contact, placement and relevant qualification information; a funder may need eligibility evidence, attendance and progress records. These examples do not authorise routine disclosure of complete learner files. Health, disability and banking information require particular care and are shared only where the specific purpose and lawful conditions justify it.

An independent learner’s results are not automatically supplied to an employer or funder merely because they purchased a course. Information may also be disclosed to authorised personnel, facilitators, professional advisers or authorities where required for the service, a lawful obligation or an appropriate dispute process.

ATA uses TalentLMS for learning administration and delivery, PayFast for payments, Outlook for email, and WhatsApp for communications. The information each provider handles depends on the service used. Providers acting on ATA’s instructions must be subject to suitable written processing and security obligations. Providers may also act independently for their own purposes under their own notices. This policy does not replace those notices.

Please do not send passwords, card security codes or one-time passwords to ATA. For ID, medical or banking records, ask ATA for the appropriate submission method before sending them. Avoid posting sensitive documents in WhatsApp groups. Depending on a group’s settings and use, other members may see your number, profile information and messages. Contact us by email if you need an alternative communication route.

Cloud and communications providers may process information outside South Africa. ATA must verify the actual recipients, locations and applicable safeguards before a transfer, and meet the requirements of section 72 of POPIA. These may include adequate legal or binding contractual protection, or another applicable statutory ground. You may ask the Information Officer about the arrangements relevant to your information; we do not promise that all information remains in South Africa.

Enrolment, a course purchase, provision of a phone number or participation in an ATA photograph does not automatically give permission for electronic marketing or public promotion. ATA must obtain and record consent where required before using information for those purposes. Where an existing-customer exception lawfully applies to electronic marketing, all its conditions must be met. An opt-out alone is not consent where consent is required.

You may decline or stop promotional communications by using the opt-out provided or contacting admin@atatrainingacademy.co.za. Necessary course, transaction and programme messages may still be sent. For identifiable promotional photographs and testimonials, ATA must explain the intended use and obtain appropriate separate permission before publication. Declining publicity must not itself prejudice learning or programme participation. Contact us about withdrawing future permission or requesting review of an existing publication.

Retention depends on the record’s purpose and applicable obligations. Enquiry and unsuccessful application records are reviewed when the enquiry or selection process ends. Programme and learner records may be needed for delivery, completion verification, lawful funder audits or disputes. Financial records are retained for applicable accounting and tax obligations. Consent and complaint records may be needed to demonstrate permissions and resolve concerns. No category is kept indefinitely simply because it might be useful.

ATA must determine and document the appropriate periods, including any lawful funding-contract requirements, and review records when those periods expire. A justified legal hold may delay deletion of relevant records. Information no longer lawfully needed must be securely deleted, destroyed or de-identified, with backup handling included in the retention arrangements. You may ask the Information Officer which period or criteria apply to your record.

ATA is required to apply reasonable technical and organisational safeguards appropriate to the information and risks, control authorised access, and require appropriate protection by its operators. These obligations extend to email, messaging, devices and exported files. No system can guarantee absolute security. Suspected unauthorised access or disclosure must be investigated and reported to the Information Regulator and affected people where POPIA requires it. Report a concern to the Information Officer using the contact above.

Subject to applicable conditions, you may ask whether ATA holds information about you, request access, seek correction or deletion, object to certain processing, or withdraw consent. We may verify identity proportionately and explain applicable procedures, any lawful fee, and reasons if a request cannot be met. Contact Adv. Mokoteli at admin@atatrainingacademy.co.za. We will assist with the relevant access procedure; this policy is not a PAIA manual.

You may complain directly to the Information Regulator without first completing ATA’s complaint process. Current contact information and complaint procedures are available at https://inforegulator.org.za/ and https://inforegulator.org.za/popia-forms/.

See ATA’s Cookie Notice for website technologies and choices. We will update this notice when processing changes and notify you where required. Updates do not themselves authorise unrelated new uses.