Glossary
UK recruitment & AI CV screening glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms UK recruiters meet every day — from ATS and EBSV to KCSIE, SMCR, Success Profiles and more.
- Agenda for Change
- The NHS pay and grading system covering most non-medical NHS staff, organised in Bands 1–9. AI CV screening for NHS recruiters
- AI CV Screening
- Using machine learning and language models to read every CV against a job description and produce a ranked, scored shortlist with written reasoning. Read more
- Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
- Software that manages the recruitment workflow — receiving applications, moving candidates through stages, and storing records. Many ATSs include basic keyword CV screening.
- BPSS
- Baseline Personnel Security Standard — a UK pre-employment screening for civil and defence-adjacent roles.
- CITB
- Construction Industry Training Board — UK awarding body for construction-sector skills cards and qualifications.
- Civil Service Success Profiles
- The UK Civil Service recruitment framework, scoring candidates against Behaviours, Strengths, Experience, Ability and Technical Skills. AI CV screening for Civil Service
- CSCS
- Construction Skills Certification Scheme — the recognised UK card scheme for site-based construction workers.
- DBS Check
- Disclosure and Barring Service check — UK criminal records check used in safeguarding-sensitive roles.
- DSAR
- Data Subject Access Request — a candidate's right under UK GDPR to receive all personal data an organisation holds about them. How CVSense handles DSARs
- EBSV (Evidence-Based Skill Validation)
- CVSense's proprietary CV screening engine. Classifies each required skill as Evidenced, Claimed or Missing based on the actual evidence in the CV. Deep-dive into EBSV
- ECT
- Early Career Teacher — the two-year statutory induction period for newly qualified teachers in England.
- EU AI Act
- EU regulation classifying AI used in recruitment as 'high-risk' — with obligations around transparency, human oversight and risk management. EU AI Act & AI CV screening
- GDPR (UK GDPR)
- The UK General Data Protection Regulation — governs how personal data, including candidate CVs, must be handled. GDPR CV screening
- KCSIE
- Keeping Children Safe in Education — statutory safeguarding guidance in England, central to education-sector hiring.
- NHS Constitution Values
- The six core NHS values: working together for patients, respect and dignity, commitment to quality of care, compassion, improving lives, everyone counts. Score against NHS Constitution values
- NHS People Promise
- The NHS England commitment that sets out what NHS staff can expect from their employer — used to frame recruitment, retention and culture work.
- Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)
- The UK statutory duty (Equality Act 2010) that public bodies must have due regard to eliminating discrimination and advancing equality of opportunity in recruitment.
- RPO
- Recruitment Process Outsourcing — when an organisation outsources part or all of its recruitment function to a specialist provider. AI CV screening for RPO firms
- SMCR
- Senior Managers & Certification Regime — FCA / PRA framework governing accountability of senior staff in UK financial services.
- SMSTS / SSSTS
- Site Management Safety Training Scheme / Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme — UK construction site supervisor / manager safety qualifications.
- Success Profiles
- See 'Civil Service Success Profiles'.
- TRAC
- Trac.jobs — a widely used NHS-focused recruitment portal used by many NHS trusts for vacancy management and candidate flow.
Find the glossary pages you need
Browse all the key glossary-related pages in one place — feature deep-dives, platform comparisons, vertical guidance, integrations and compliance resources.