Every training provider in Malaysia puts “HRDC claimable” on the page. Almost none of them explain what it means, what you have to do, or when. It has become a search keyword rather than information.
So here is the actual mechanism, in the order you will meet it. If you are an HR or L&D manager this is probably familiar; if you are an owner about to spend levy for the first time, this is the page I wish existed.
What “claimable” means, precisely
It means the provider is registered with HRD Corp (formerly HRDF, and still often called HRDC), so a levy-paying employer can apply for a training grant and be reimbursed out of their own levy account.
It is not a discount. It is not the provider being generous. It is your money — 1% of your monthly wage bill, which you have been paying in whether you use it or not — coming back to you in exchange for training that meets the rules.
Which also means: “HRDC claimable” tells you nothing about whether a course is any good. Every registered provider can say it. It is the entry ticket, not the qualification.
Who has a levy account
Employers in covered sectors with 10 or more Malaysian employees must register with HRD Corp and contribute 1% of monthly wages plus fixed allowances. Employers with 5 to 9 employees may register optionally at 0.5%.
Below that, there is no levy account and no claim to make. Training is simply a purchase — which is a perfectly normal way to buy it, and worth saying out loud because a lot of smaller companies assume they are missing out on something they were never inside.
The order of operations, which is where claims die
This is the part that catches people, and it is not complicated — it is just strict.
- Choose the course and the provider. The provider must be HRD Corp registered, and the specific programme must be registered too.
- Apply for the grant — before the training runs. Not the week of. Approval must exist before the first day.
- Wait. Approved programmes carry a waiting period before they may be implemented — reported as 21 days to three months from approval, depending on the case.
- Run the training.
- Submit the claim after completion, with attendance and the required documentation.
- Reimbursement. Under the SBL-Khas scheme this can be paid directly to the training provider rather than to you, which is what makes some courses effectively zero cash outlay for the employer.
The consequence of steps 2 and 3 is the thing to plan around: if you want training delivered in October, the conversation starts around July. Not because the trainer is busy — because the approval clock is.
What can be claimed
Under the Allowable Cost Matrix dated September 2025, for general courses:
| Mode | Cap |
|---|---|
| Public / open enrolment | RM1,750 per participant, per full day (7 hours) |
| Public, half day | RM1,000 per participant (4 hours) |
| In-house | RM10,500 per day, per group (7+ hours) |
| In-house, half day | RM6,000 per group |
In-house fees are prorated if fewer than five trainees attend. A full-day in-house programme therefore sits under the RM10,500-per-group general-course cap shown above.
Our fees are within these caps: RM1,750 per seat for the open class, and RM10,500 per class in-house, each for eight hours of training.
Courses categorised as Focus Area, Industry-Specific or Professional Certification are claimable as charged rather than against the general-course caps, prorated by attendance completion. Whether a given AI course qualifies is a question worth asking before you assume either way.
Since October 2024, course fees may also be claimed on an hourly basis rather than only in half-day and full-day blocks.
Check the current matrix before you budget. HRD Corp revises it, and a page on the internet — including this one — is only as current as its last edit. The figures above are from the September 2025 revision.
Compliance is tightening, and that is good for you
HRD Corp has been visibly increasing enforcement — monitoring officers observing delivery, scrutiny of providers, and public action where programmes were not run as claimed.
If you are buying training, this is in your favour. It means documentation, attendance records and honest delivery are now the baseline rather than a differentiator. It also means a provider who is vague about mechanics is a provider worth asking harder questions.
The questions to ask any provider
- What is your HRD Corp registration, and is this specific programme registered?
- Who is the registered provider on the paperwork — you, or a partner? (Perfectly normal either way. You just need to know whose name your finance team will see.)
- Which category is the course registered under, and what does that mean for the cap?
- What is the realistic lead time from grant application to delivery?
- What documentation will I receive for the claim, and when?
A provider who cannot answer these quickly has not done this often.
How this works with my programmes
AI Foundation, in an open class or in-house, is claimable through an HRD Corp registered training provider, subject to HRD Corp’s scheme requirements at the time of booking. Your company applies for the grant before the class. Tell me your situation and I’ll tell you what yours needs.
HRD Corp Train-the-Trainer certified · Trainer ID 64685.
Training is delivered under ABOD Academy, a training brand of ABOD Technology Services (M) Sdn Bhd.
This page is general information about a public scheme, not advice on your particular claim. The authority on HRD Corp rules is HRD Corp.