Is RPEL recognised in Malaysia? RPEL vs SKM explained
Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) is a national scheme run by HRD Corp, the Human Resource Development Corporation. That is the part almost nobody explains, and it is the answer to most of the confusion about whether RPEL is recognised.
RPEL is HRD Corp's scheme, not one company's product. HRD Corp appoints providers to deliver it, and different providers award through different bodies. The route built on Department of Skills Development standards awards the Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM). Silver Boundaries is one of the appointed providers, and awards a Level 4 Diploma in Leadership & Management accredited by one of the three UK awarding organisations we are an Approved Centre for, NCFE, TQUK and Highfield Qualifications. The scheme is set out on HRD Corp's RPEL page.
Is RPEL recognised in Malaysia?
Yes, as a scheme: RPEL is run nationally by HRD Corp. What you hold at the end depends on your provider. Ours is an accredited Level 4 Diploma with a published standard behind it. It is not an Ofqual-regulated qualification and it is not MQA-accredited. All of those are true at once.
Who runs RPEL, and who awards the qualification?
Three parties, three jobs. HRD Corp owns the scheme and sets the funding rules. An appointed provider carries out the assessment. An awarding organisation issues the certificate. People assume the provider and the awarding body are the same thing, and that is where the question gets muddled.
Silver Boundaries, the company behind Qualify.my, is an appointed provider and an Approved Centre for three awarding organisations. That approval is what lets us assess your evidence and have a qualification issued. Without it, we could only print a certificate of our own.
RPEL vs SKM: what the different routes award
Both routes sit under the same HRD Corp scheme and both assess experience rather than teach a syllabus. They differ in the standard used and the certificate issued. Neither is a substitute for the other, and which one you want depends on the recognition your goal actually needs.
| The skills-standard route | Silver Boundaries | |
|---|---|---|
| Scheme owner | HRD Corp | HRD Corp |
| Standard used | Department of Skills Development occupational standards | Level 4 Leadership & Management qualification standard |
| What you are awarded | Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) | Level 4 Diploma in Leadership & Management |
| Who issues it | The Malaysian skills certification system | One of NCFE, TQUK or Highfield Qualifications |
| Best suited to | Trade and technical occupations with a defined skills standard | Supervisors and managers evidencing leadership responsibility |
What "accredited" actually means here
It means an independent organisation holds the assessment to a published standard. Ofqual, the UK qualifications regulator, publishes level descriptors. These set out what a learner at each level should be able to do, and a Level 4 sits around the first year of degree-level study. Our Diploma is benchmarked against those descriptors.
What it does not mean is that the qualification sits on the UK's Regulated Qualifications Framework. It does not, and we do not claim that it does. The awarding organisations we work with are named on our about page.
What MQA accreditation is, and why this Diploma is not MQA-accredited
MQA is Malaysia's national quality agency for higher education, and an MQA-accredited programme has been assessed under the Malaysian Qualifications Framework. The RPEL Diploma sits outside that framework. It is accredited by our partner awarding organisations instead. Neither is better in the abstract. What matters is what your goal requires.
Does "not MQA-accredited" matter for you?
For most of our learners, no. Their goal is recognition by an employer, a promotion, or credit towards further study, and the qualification serves all three. It matters if your goal depends on Malaysian national accreditation: certain regulated professions, government schemes and public-sector roles may require an MQA-recognised qualification.
If that is your situation, check the requirement before you enrol. We would rather tell you now than take your money and disappoint you later.
Who accepts the Level 4 diploma?
Malaysian employers, mainly, which is the outcome most people are after. We have been delivering under the HRD Corp scheme since 2016, 1,350 learners have been certified, and more than 70 employers have sent staff through it. Our partner universities can also recognise the programme for credit transfer, which shortens your next qualification.
That progression route is mapped individually, because it depends on your situation. You can see what we can and cannot promise on our progression pathway page.
If you have no formal qualification but years of experience
This is who the scheme exists for. HRD Corp designed RPEL around workers whose competence is real but undocumented, so entry is based on evidence from your job, not on certificates you never collected. There is no SPM requirement and no diploma you must hold first.
If you have been passed over for a promotion because you have no qualification on file, what you usually need is recognition from your employer. That is exactly what this route is good at.
When RPEL is the right fit, and when it is not
It is a strong fit if you have real experience, you want an accredited qualification behind it, and your goal is employer recognition or further study. It is the wrong route if you need MQA accreditation specifically, or if you do not yet have the years of experience to show. The assessment is proof of competence, not a course of study.
For the full picture of how the route works, read our complete guide to RPEL in Malaysia.
Not sure if it fits your goal? Find out in two minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Who runs RPEL in Malaysia?
HRD Corp, the Human Resource Development Corporation, runs Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning as a national scheme. It appoints providers to deliver the assessment. Silver Boundaries is one of those appointed providers.
Is RPEL the same as SKM?
No. SKM, the Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia, is what the route built on Department of Skills Development standards awards. Silver Boundaries awards a Level 4 Diploma in Leadership and Management instead. Both sit under the same HRD Corp scheme.
Who awards the qualification on this route?
One of our three partner awarding organisations, NCFE, TQUK and Highfield Qualifications. Silver Boundaries is an Approved Centre for all three, and which one issues your certificate is confirmed before you begin. That is what allows us to assess your evidence and have a qualification issued, instead of a certificate of our own.
Is the RPEL Diploma recognised in Malaysia?
It is an accredited qualification, issued by one of the three UK awarding organisations we are an Approved Centre for, NCFE, TQUK and Highfield Qualifications, and benchmarked against Ofqual level descriptors. It is not an Ofqual-regulated or RQF qualification and carries no direct entry to UK universities. It is not MQA-accredited either, but it sits under the HRD Corp scheme and is widely accepted by Malaysian employers.
Is the Diploma MQA-accredited?
No. The Diploma is accredited by our partner awarding organisations, not by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency. We state this openly so you know exactly what you are getting before you enrol.
Will employers accept an accredited Diploma?
In our experience, yes. The qualification is benchmarked against Ofqual level descriptors, has been delivered under the HRD Corp scheme since 2016, and more than 70 Malaysian employers have sent staff through it.