What the HRD Corp levy is for
Malaysian employers with ten or more Malaysian employees pay a monthly levy to HRD Corp (the Human Resource Development Corporation, still widely called HRDC), and can claim approved training against it. The levy exists to upskill the workforce, and it fits the capabilities teams now need most: AI literacy, product design and digital product development.
Many AI courses teach tools and hand out certificates. Fewer change how a team works the following Monday. The difference lies in how the programme is designed.
Why AI and design training matters now
Malaysian businesses are adopting AI quickly, but mostly at the surface. AWS's 2026 study of Malaysian businesses, reported by Xinhua, found that 38% use at least one AI tool consistently and only 19% have a formal plan to scale it. We cover the numbers in AI adoption in Malaysia 2026. The gaps show up in three areas:
- AI literacy: Most teams cannot evaluate AI tools, design AI-powered workflows, or manage AI projects effectively
- Product design: Companies building digital products often lack UX research skills, design system knowledge, and user-centred development practices
- Design engineering: The intersection of design and code — where the fastest product teams operate — is rare in local training programmes
These are not nice-to-have skills. They are the capabilities that determine whether a company's digital investments produce returns or waste.
What effective corporate training looks like
The training programmes that produce real capability share these characteristics:
- Project-based learning: Participants work on real problems from their own company, not hypothetical case studies. The training output is actual work product, not just knowledge
- Enough trainers per participant: Every participant should get feedback on their own work, which means small groups or more than one trainer in the room
- Practitioner instructors: Training led by people who actively build products, not career academics or professional trainers who have never shipped anything
- Follow-up and application: A two-day workshop is the starting point, not the end. Effective programmes include follow-up sessions where participants apply what they learned and get feedback
Claiming HRD Corp funding for AI and design training
The steps for a claim:
- Confirm your registration: Your company must be a registered employer contributing the levy
- Choose a registered training provider: HRD Corp funds programmes run by registered providers, and the claim names the provider
- Submit the training grant application: Apply before the training date with a clear programme outline and objectives
- Document outcomes: Track attendance, assessments, and post-training application for your records and future claims
Programme areas worth funding
For teams building digital products, these four areas deserve a place in the training plan:
- AI for Product Teams: How to evaluate, implement, and manage AI in digital products — designed for product managers, designers, and engineers
- UX Research and Design Fundamentals: User research methods, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing for teams building customer-facing products
- Design Systems for Development Teams: Building and maintaining component libraries that accelerate product development
- Prompt Engineering and AI Workflow Design: Practical skills for using AI tools effectively in daily work across departments
The AI programmes Marcus Chia teaches are HRDC claimable through AiTraining2U, an HRD Corp registered provider. See the training programmes for what each one covers.
The bigger picture
Malaysia's National AI Action Plan 2026-2030 projects 300,000 to 500,000 AI-related jobs. The levy is one of the few funding sources a company already controls for preparing its own people. Spend it on training that changes how your team works, and measure the change.
When training shows you need outside help to design or automate a workflow, our AI automation consulting picks up where the classroom stops. For what happens after the first experiment, read AI pilot to production.