Malaysian employers planning HRD Corp claimable training usually face this choice early: in-house (the trainer delivers a private session for your organisation) or public/open (your staff join a scheduled session alongside participants from other companies). Both are valid and both can be HRD Corp claimable — the right choice depends on what you're actually trying to achieve.
In-house training: built around your team
In-house training is delivered exclusively for your organisation — onsite at your premises or live online for your team only. The trainer can use your real data, your real processes, and your real compliance context, and content can be adjusted on the spot based on what your team already knows.
- Best for: confidential data or processes, teams needing a shared, consistent baseline, and topics that benefit from being tailored to your operations (e.g. an ESG assessment tied to your actual supply chain, or a DOE session using your factory's real defect data).
- Cost structure: usually priced per group/day — the more people you send, the lower the cost per head.
Public training: join a scheduled, open session
Public training runs on a fixed schedule and mixes participants from different companies. It works well when you have only one or two people needing a specific skill and don't want to wait to build a full in-house group, and can be a good way to expose staff to perspectives from other industries.
- Best for: small numbers of participants, standard/generic topics, flexible timing around an existing published schedule.
- Cost structure: priced per participant, regardless of how many of your staff attend.
Side-by-side comparison
| In-House | Public | |
|---|---|---|
| Content | Customisable to your operations and data | Standard curriculum |
| Confidentiality | High — your team only | Shared with other companies' staff |
| Cost for a large team | Lower per head (priced per group) | Scales linearly per participant |
| Best group size | 10–25+ people at one organisation | 1–5 people |
| Scheduling | Flexible — set to your calendar | Fixed to the provider's published dates |
| HRD Corp claimable | Yes, where the course/provider is registered | Yes, where the course/provider is registered |
How Megabyte structures this
Every Megabyte program supports the in-house model — onsite or live online, priced per group of up to 25 participants — as well as individual e-learning enrolment for staff who just need to complete a course on their own schedule. For programs like ESG Adoption and Anti-Corruption & Governance, in-house delivery is the only format offered, because the content is tailored to each organisation's specific risk profile.
Frequently asked questions
Is in-house training always more expensive?
Not per head, for larger groups. In-house pricing is usually per group rather than per participant, so it often becomes cheaper per person than public training once you're sending more than a handful of staff.
Can in-house training still be HRD Corp claimable?
Yes, provided the course and training provider are registered and approved by HRD Corp under an applicable scheme, and the grant application is submitted correctly before training begins.
Which format is better for confidential or company-specific topics?
In-house training, since content and discussion stay within your own organisation and can reference your actual operations, data or compliance context directly.