What Is SLDN in Malaysia? An Employer's Guide to the National Dual Training System (2026): 70/30 Workplace Training, the RM500 Apprentice Allowance, the RM200 Company Incentive, Coaches and the Kursus Induksi SLDN

A factory needs CNC operators, maintenance technicians and quality inspectors who can work to its own standard. Hiring finished talent is slow and expensive, and graduates from full-time courses often need months of retraining. Malaysia has had a scheme for this since 2005: the apprentice spends most of the week on your shop floor, a JPK-accredited training centre covers the theory, and the apprentice ends up with a national skills certificate. It is called SLDN. Most companies that look into it give up early because they can't work out who applies, who pays whom, and what the company has to do. This guide answers those three questions from the official JPK documents.

Quick answer (as of November 2026): SLDN (Sistem Latihan Dual Nasional, the National Dual Training System) is a Department of Skills Development (JPK) apprenticeship scheme. 70%–80% of the training happens at the company and 20%–30% at an accredited training centre, and successful apprentices receive a Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM). Under the latest published incentive guide (JPK, 19 January 2024), each apprentice gets RM500 a month, the centre gets RM300 and the company RM200. Apprentices must be Malaysian citizens aged at least 16.

What SLDN is, and why it suits manufacturers

SLDN is one of three ways to earn a Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia. The other two are a full-time programme at an accredited centre and PPT, the experience route for people who already do the job (see our guide to getting an SKM through work experience). SLDN sits between them. The apprentice is trained against the same National Occupational Skills Standard (NOSS) as a full-time student, but most of the learning happens in a real workplace.

JPK's 2016 implementation guideline says the Government decided on 19 May 2004 to run SLDN from 2005, to produce skilled workers through training that meets current industry needs. JPK is the implementing agency. Companies are encouraged to partner with public or private skills training institutions, and the trainees can be school leavers or the company's own workers.

That second point matters more than most employers realise. SLDN is not only a graduate pipeline. The 2016 guideline lists a separate stream, SLDN Peningkatan Tahap Kemahiran, for industry workers or SKM holders who want to move up a level. A plant that wants its Level 2 operators certified at Level 3 can use the same structure.

For a foreign-owned manufacturer the attraction is simple. You train to your own processes and machines, the theory is delivered by an accredited centre, and the person who finishes holds a national certificate that customers, auditors and tender documents recognise. For the wider certification framework and the Act 652 amendments, see our guide to JPK accredited centres and SKM.

The three parties and who does what

Every SLDN programme has three parties. The confusion usually starts because the company is not the one that applies for the incentive.

• The accredited SLDN provider (PB SLDN). Either a training centre (Pusat Latihan, PL) or a company accredited to run SLDN in-house (Syarikat Inhouse, SI). Only a PL or SI can apply for an incentive quota and register apprentices in MySPIKE.
• The partner company. The workplace where the apprentice spends most of the training time. It must be accredited as a training location, or the centre must show proof of the company's commitment when it applies.
• The apprentice (perantis). Registered with JPK by the provider and bound by an SLDN apprenticeship agreement.

The 2016 guideline sets out the company's duties in detail. Before training starts, the company must appoint an SLDN coordinator and a qualified coach to train the apprentice, help the centre recruit and register apprentices, and agree the training schedule with the centre. During training, the company must train only at the accredited location and to the schedule, record attendance, look after the apprentice's welfare and discipline, make sure the apprentice is covered by insurance, report to JPK if an apprentice drops out, and carry out continuous assessment. After training, it must make sure every apprentice is assessed by the external verifier (Pegawai Pengesah Luaran, PPL), help apply for the certificates, hand the SKM to successful apprentices, and submit a tracer report six months after training ends.

Source: JPK 600-2/1/3 (5), Panduan dan Peraturan Pelaksanaan Program SLDN Insentif (Pindaan 2016), paras 10.1–10.2.

Coaches, coordinators and the Kursus Induksi SLDN

The coach is where SLDN succeeds or fails. The coach is the employee who shows the apprentice how the work is done, signs off the practical tasks and keeps the records the external verifier will check. The 2016 guideline requires the company to appoint a coach who is berkelayakan, meaning qualified. It does not say "any senior worker".

The Kursus Induksi SLDN is the induction course for the people who run the system: SLDN trainers at the centre, workplace coaches, coordinators and training-centre personnel. It covers how SLDN is implemented and documented to JPK's requirements. Which of your staff must hold it depends on the accreditation conditions (Syarat Pentauliahan) in force for your programme, so confirm this with the centre before you nominate people. If you are setting up in-house, our Kursus Induksi SLDN registration service handles nominations, documents and coordination with the accredited provider and JPK.

Plan for more than one coach. If your only qualified coach resigns halfway through a 12-month programme, the company can no longer meet its duty to train with a qualified coach, and the apprentices' records stop moving. Two inducted coaches per programme is a sensible minimum for a plant running a single intake.

Who can be an apprentice

The 2024 incentive guide sets seven criteria. The apprentice must:

1. be a job seeker interested in upskilling or reskilling;
2. be a Malaysian citizen;
3. be at least 16 years old at registration, counted by year of birth;
4. be able to write and speak at least Malay or English;
5. not be one of the SLDN personnel or coordinators directly involved in that programme;
6. train full-time; and
7. not already hold an SKM, DKM, DLKM or modular certificate in the programme being registered.

The citizenship test applies to the apprentice, not the company. Neither the 2016 guideline nor the 2024 incentive guide restricts the ownership of the partner company, so a foreign-owned manufacturer can host SLDN apprentices. What it cannot do is use SLDN to train its foreign workers or expatriate staff. For foreign technicians, the routes are work passes and, where they already have the experience, PPT at the non-citizen fee.

The money: allowance, incentives and who pays whom

The incentive history in the 2024 guide explains why figures online disagree. No allowance was paid when SLDN started in 2005. From 2007, under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, apprentices received RM300 a month and companies RM200 per apprentice. From 2011 training centres received RM125 per apprentice. From 2021 the Government approved a combined RM1,000 a month, which the January 2024 guide says was still in place.

Source: Panduan Permohonan dan Pelaksanaan Program SLDN Berinsentif, JPK, 19 January 2024, paras 2.0 and 7.4.

Three points from the guide change how a company should budget:

• The money flows through the centre. JPK pays the incentive into the centre's or in-house company's account, and the centre then distributes the apprentice allowance and the company incentive. If you are the partner company, your RM200 depends on the centre's claim being complete and on time.
• Payment is in arrears. For a 2–3 month programme JPK pays after training ends. For longer programmes it pays every two months, with the final payment tied to completion.
• It is not an entitlement. The 2016 guideline states the allowance and incentives are not an absolute right of the apprentice or provider and depend on the Government's current allocation. Quotas are first come, first served.

Many employers pay the apprentice more than the RM500 allowance so they can compete for good candidates. The guides don't stop you doing that. Separately, the 2016 guideline refers companies to tax deductions under the Income Tax Act 1967 (it cites section 33, section 34(6)(n) and Schedule 3). Confirm the current treatment with your tax adviser before you count on it.

Step by step: from quota to certificate

The 2024 incentive guide and the MySPIKE manual for SLDN providers (updated 5 February 2023) set out the sequence. The company's part runs alongside the centre's.

1. Find or become an accredited provider. Partner with a JPK-accredited SLDN training centre, or get your own site accredited to run SLDN in-house. Accreditation of a centre is a separate JPK process. Our JPK accredited centre application service covers it.
2. Set up the course in MySPIKE. The provider's manager or coordinator creates the course against the NOSS code: a full programme by level, a single-tier programme, or a modular micro-credential. Modular courses go to JPK for checking first.
3. Apply for an incentive quota. JPK announces incentive offers through MySPIKE and the JPK portal. The provider applies online with its training plan, training hours, planned intake frequency and the partnership letter with the company. Skip this step if you run SLDN without the incentive.
4. JPK evaluates. A quota evaluation committee assesses the application and an allocation committee decides. The decision is final, with no appeal, though the provider may reapply. Successful providers receive an offer letter (Surat Tawaran) and return an acceptance letter.
5. Recruit and register apprentices. The provider registers apprentices in MySPIKE within 30 days of the training start date. The start date can be deferred by up to three months, and the quota can be cancelled if no one is registered within that time.
6. Train, assess and claim. The apprentice follows the agreed day-release or block-release schedule. The company records attendance and does continuous assessment, and the centre submits incentive claims.
7. External verification and certificate. A PPL assesses the apprentice. Successful apprentices receive a modular certificate, SKM, DKM or DLKM.

When JPK allocates quotas, the 2024 guide gives priority to programmes at Level 3 and above, new or high-technology fields, providers with a good graduate tracer record, and centres whose partner companies comply with section 2 on contracts of apprenticeship under the Employment Act 1955 as amended in 2022. Providers under investigation or enforcement under Act 652 are excluded.

Timeline and cost for a first intake

The timing for quota decisions and certificate printing is not fixed in the guides. Treat the first intake as a six-month project before the first apprentice starts, and plan your recruitment around JPK's offer window rather than your own hiring calendar.

Common mistakes

• Treating the incentive as guaranteed. The allowance depends on an approved quota and the current allocation. Don't sign apprentice offer letters that promise RM500 from JPK until the centre holds an offer letter.
• Using apprentices as cheap labour. Work unrelated to the training programme is prohibited, and the external verifier will see it in the records.
• One coach, no backup. A resignation stalls the whole intake.
• Missing the 30-day registration window. An apprentice who starts but isn't registered in time is a problem for the quota and the claim.
• Recruiting non-citizens. Foreign workers and expatriates are not eligible apprentices.
• Training outside the accredited site. Moving apprentices to a second plant or a customer site that isn't part of the accreditation breaks the training conditions.
• Forgetting the tracer report. The company owes JPK a tracer report six months after training ends, and providers with a good tracer record get priority next time.

Is SLDN right for your company?

SLDN fits a company that has steady demand for skilled operators or technicians, a production area that can be accredited as a training site, and at least two people who can coach. It suits manufacturers, workshops, automotive service centres and hospitality groups. It is less suited to a company that needs one hire next month, because the quota and registration cycle doesn't run at that speed.

If your workforce already has the experience but not the paper, PPT is faster. If you need a pipeline of new local technicians and want them trained to your processes, SLDN is the stronger route. Many plants use both: PPT for the senior people who will become coaches, then SLDN for new intakes. That pairing also helps the local-hiring case you will need when you apply for Employment Passes. Our Employment Act guide for foreign employers covers the employment terms that sit around an apprenticeship.

ONEKEY BIZ handles the SLDN induction course for coaches and coordinators, JPK accreditation and SKM applications for foreign-owned companies in Malaysia. Talk to our team about your plant and intake size and we'll tell you which route fits.

This article is general information only, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Policies, thresholds and official fees are set by the relevant Malaysian authorities and may change. Talk to our consultants about your specific situation.