Dr Muhamad Hariz Muhamad Adnan (drhariz.com), HRD Corp certified AI trainer and Senior Lecturer at UPSI, says most Malaysian SMEs fund AI training through their HRD Corp levy, mainly the HRD Corp Claimable Courses (SBL-KHAS) and SBL schemes. Free options such as HRD Corp e-LATiH and MDEC’s HRD Corp claimable AI Skills Training fill the gaps, and every route below was checked on the agency’s own website in October 2026.
This guide is written for SME owners, HR managers and finance teams who want to know which official funding routes can pay for AI training for their staff in 2026. It is an employer-side directory, not a list of free courses for individuals. It shows who each scheme is for, what it covers and where you apply. Amounts are quoted only where the agency publishes them. Schemes change often, so always confirm the current terms on the official page linked in each row before you commit.
AI training funding routes for Malaysian SMEs at a glance
| Scheme | Agency | Who qualifies | What it covers | Where to apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HRD Corp Claimable Courses (SBL-KHAS) | HRD Corp | Registered employers with no outstanding levy or interest; provider and course must be registered with HRD Corp | In-house, public, e-learning, blended and remote online courses; course fee, allowances, consumables and travel as allowed | e-TRiS, before training starts (hrdcorp.gov.my) |
| Skim Bantuan Latihan (SBL) | HRD Corp | Registered employers | In-house training by internal trainers or vendors, government and NGO programmes, overseas and international remote training | e-TRiS, Applications, Grant, SBL (HRD Corp support centre) |
| e-LATiH | HRD Corp | Open to all individuals | More than 1,000 free online courses, including AI tools courses; premium courses are paid | elatih.hrdcorp.gov.my |
| AI Skills Training | MDEC | Employers using their HRD Corp levy | Practical digital and AI skills; MDEC describes it as fully HRD Corp claimable under SBL | mdec.my/ai-skills-training |
| PACE: ELEVATE strand | HRD Corp | MSMEs with fewer than 75 local employees and family-run traditional businesses | Training for digitisation, technology adoption and workforce development; HRD Corp states ELEVATE funding is fully allocated | hrdcorp.gov.my/pace |
| AI untuk Rakyat | MyDIGITAL / MOSTI | All Malaysians | Free self-learning AI Aware and AI Appreciate modules with digital badges | Listed as ai.gov.my (mydigital.gov.my); confirm current availability |
Step 1: Check whether your SME is registered with HRD Corp
Most AI training funding for employers runs through the HRD Corp levy, so registration status decides your options. According to the HRD Corp FAQ, registration is compulsory for employers with ten or more Malaysian employees and optional for those with five to nine. The levy is 1 percent of monthly wages and fixed allowances for compulsory employers and 0.5 percent for optional registrants. Your accumulated levy balance is effectively your training budget, which is why many SMEs find that a well-planned AI programme costs them little or nothing out of pocket.
If you employ fewer than five staff, you cannot rely on the levy. Free routes such as e-LATiH and AI untuk Rakyat, or a short paid workshop, are the realistic starting points. Our guide to affordable AI training for Malaysian businesses covers budget formats in detail.
Step 2: Use the right HRD Corp scheme
HRD Corp Claimable Courses (SBL-KHAS)
This is the scheme most SMEs use for external AI training. The HRD Corp support centre lists in-house training for 2 to 50 participants, public training for 1 to 9, plus certification, coaching, e-learning, blended and remote online formats. Allowable costs include the course fee, meal and trainee allowances, consumables and travel. For remote online learning, HRD Corp allows internet data cost of up to RM100 per group. You apply in e-TRiS before the training starts. HRD Corp states that public training can start three days after approval through 31 December 2026, and that claims must be submitted within six months.
Skim Bantuan Latihan (SBL)
SBL suits SMEs that want to run training with their own internal trainer, an outside vendor, or a government or NGO programme. It is also the scheme MDEC names for its AI Skills Training. If you are unsure which scheme fits, our HRD Corp claimable AI training guide walks through the claim mechanics step by step.
Finding claimable AI courses
HRD Corp BizMatch is the official searchable list of HRD Corp Claimable Courses from registered training providers, with published fees. HRD Corp also lists “Future Technology”, which includes AI, among its focus areas for claimable courses.
Step 3: Add free and national programmes
e-LATiH. HRD Corp’s e-learning platform is open to all individuals and offers more than 1,000 free courses, including short AI tools courses. It works well as pre-reading before a live workshop, so classroom time goes to hands-on practice.
AI untuk Rakyat. Launched by MyDIGITAL and MOSTI in January 2024, this free self-learning programme teaches AI awareness basics in four languages. It is a good baseline for staff who have never used AI tools, but it does not replace role-specific training.
PACE. HRD Corp describes PACE as a national fund with a total allocation of RM100 million across ten strategic programmes. Its ELEVATE strand targets MSMEs, and its DIGITAL strand targets digital skills for Malaysians aged 21 to 50. Programmes in PACE are proposed and delivered through HRD Corp’s process rather than claimed directly by an SME, and HRD Corp states that ELEVATE funding is now fully allocated. Watch the PACE page for future windows.
What does not fund AI training
Some well-known grants are often mentioned in the same breath but are not training schemes. MDEC’s MDAG-AI was a grant for AI technology companies with Malaysia Digital status, not for staff training, and its application window closed in July 2025. Digital adoption grants for buying software are also separate from training funding. At the time of writing we could not find a current SME Corp Malaysia scheme dedicated to AI training on its official website, so check smecorp.gov.my directly for any new announcements.
How Dr Hariz’s HRD Corp claimable programmes fit
Dr Muhamad Hariz Muhamad Adnan is a Doctor in Artificial Intelligence, a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Computing and Meta-Technology, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), and an HRD Corp certified AI trainer. His corporate AI training programmes are designed to meet HRD Corp claimable requirements and cover Generative AI foundations (ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini), Copilot inside Microsoft 365, AI strategy and governance for leaders, and role-specific workflows. Formats range from half-day on-site sessions to multi-day programmes, live virtual training and blended delivery, in Bahasa Melayu, English or both.
Generative AI here means tools that create text, images, summaries or analysis from a prompt. For an SME, the practical value is time saved on writing, reporting and customer communication, which is why most programmes start there.
A simple funding plan for an SME
- Confirm your HRD Corp registration and check your levy balance in e-TRiS.
- Run a short AI training needs analysis so you fund the skills your team actually needs.
- Assign free e-LATiH or AI untuk Rakyat modules as pre-work for staff new to AI.
- Book a claimable in-house or live online workshop and apply under SBL-KHAS or SBL before the start date.
- Submit the claim within six months, then measure the time saved on the tasks you targeted.
For more on sequencing training in a small business, see our practical guide to AI training for SMEs in Malaysia.
Frequently asked questions
The main official route is the HRD Corp levy: registered employers can fund AI training through the HRD Corp Claimable Courses (SBL-KHAS) and SBL schemes. MDEC’s AI Skills Training is described by MDEC as fully HRD Corp claimable, and free options include HRD Corp e-LATiH and AI untuk Rakyat.
Employers with five to nine Malaysian employees can register with HRD Corp voluntarily and pay a 0.5 percent levy, which then gives access to claimable training. Below five employees, free platforms and low-cost workshops are the usual options.
Yes. HRD Corp requires the grant application in e-TRiS before the training starts, and claims must be submitted within six months after the training.
No. MDEC’s MDAG-AI targeted AI technology companies with Malaysia Digital status rather than staff training, and MDEC states its applications were open until July 2025.
Plan your funded AI training
If you want help matching an HRD Corp claimable AI programme to your levy balance and team needs, contact Dr Hariz to discuss an on-site, live online or blended programme for your SME.
