PETALING JAYA: Small and medium enterprises (SME) will receive RM2,000 for each intern hired under the Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd's (TalentCorp) SME Industrial Training Matching Grant (LiKES), says Datuk Seri R. Ramanan.
The Human Resources Minister said this would allow training of up to 25,000 Malaysians.
"This programme involves a fund of RM30mil for three years," he said at the TalentCorp office here on Tuesday (Jan 6).
He said companies would receive RM2,000 per intern hired starting from March 1 and will receive the funds within a two-week period.
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"The LiKES approval process has been reduced to 14 working days compared to before, which was about 90 days," he said of the programme first introduced in 2024.
Ramanan, who is also Sungai Buloh MP, encouraged companies to apply for this grant as it would allow better training for interns, ensure they have meaningful workplace exposure and learning opportunities, and possibly hire them after training.
He added that SMEs are also eligible for an additional 50% tax deduction on training expenditure in artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber security under the MyMahir-National AI Council for Industry (MyMahir-NAICI) initiative, announced under Budget 2026 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"This is to support businesses in building high-value digital capabilities aligned with national priorities.
