What Is an In-House AI Course?
An in-house AI course is a private, customised training programme delivered exclusively for your company's employees. Unlike public courses where participants from different organisations learn generic content together, an in-house programme is built around your specific industry, workflows, tools, governance requirements, and business objectives.
Everything — from the examples used in demonstrations to the exercises participants complete during hands-on practice — is tailored to your organisation. Your team works with their own documents, their own processes, and their own AI use cases. The result is training that transfers directly to daily work, with no translation required.
In-house delivery is available in all formats: 1-day, 2-day, half-day, or modular programmes spread across multiple sessions. The distinguishing factor is not the duration — it is the level of customisation and the private, confidential environment.
Why Choose In-House Over Public Courses?
The decision between in-house and public AI courses comes down to six factors. For most companies with 10 or more participants, in-house training delivers significantly better outcomes at a comparable or lower per-person cost.
| Factor | Public Course | In-House Course |
|---|---|---|
| Content | Generic curriculum for broad audience | Customised to your industry and workflows |
| Examples | Hypothetical scenarios | Your real documents and processes |
| Exercises | Standard practice tasks | Built from your actual work tasks |
| Governance | General data privacy principles | Your specific policies, tools, and compliance requirements |
| Attendees | Strangers from different companies | Your team only — shared context and trust |
| Confidentiality | Limited — cannot discuss proprietary work | Full — participants can work with real company data |
| Follow-up | None or generic resources | Coaching, prompt library reviews, adoption support |
| Format | Fixed schedule and duration | Flexible — tailored to your availability |
| Group dynamics | Diverse backgrounds, varying relevance | Shared vocabulary, immediate team application |
| Post-training alignment | Individual takeaways | Unified approach across your organisation |
The Confidentiality Advantage
This is often the deciding factor. In a public course, participants cannot work with real company documents, discuss proprietary processes, or build prompts using actual business data. They work with hypothetical examples and must mentally translate everything back to their own context.
In an in-house course, participants can:
- Use real internal documents during exercises
- Build prompts for actual business tasks they face daily
- Discuss confidential workflows openly without concern
- Create governance frameworks referencing real company policies
- Develop prompt libraries that are immediately usable
This confidentiality benefit alone typically doubles the practical value of the training.
How Customisation Works
Pertama Partners follows a structured four-step process to ensure every in-house programme delivers maximum relevance and impact.
Step 1: Needs Assessment (1-2 Weeks Before)
We conduct a discovery session with your L&D team, department heads, or project sponsor to understand:
- Business objectives — What outcomes are you expecting from AI training? (Productivity, quality, innovation, compliance)
- Current AI maturity — Where is your team today? (No exposure, some self-taught use, structured but limited)
- Role mix — Which departments and seniority levels will attend?
- Tool environment — Which AI tools does your organisation use or plan to use? (ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, industry-specific tools)
- Governance requirements — What data protection regulations, internal policies, and compliance frameworks apply?
- Specific pain points — Which tasks or workflows would benefit most from AI assistance?
This assessment typically takes 1-2 hours and can be conducted via video call or in person.
Step 2: Curriculum Design (1-2 Weeks)
Based on the needs assessment, we design a programme that includes:
- Industry-specific examples — Demonstrations using scenarios directly relevant to your sector
- Role-tailored exercises — Hands-on practice built from real tasks each department performs
- Custom governance module — Referencing your specific data classification, policies, and regulatory requirements
- Targeted tool focus — Prioritising the AI tools your organisation has licensed or plans to adopt
- Appropriate depth — Balancing foundations for beginners with advanced content for experienced users
You receive a draft curriculum for review and approval before delivery.
Step 3: Delivery
The programme is delivered at your preferred venue (your office, an external training facility, or virtually) by an experienced instructor who has reviewed your organisation's context and prepared customised materials.
During delivery, the instructor adapts in real time based on participant questions, engagement levels, and emerging needs. This flexibility is a key advantage of in-house programmes — the curriculum can shift to spend more time on topics that resonate and less on areas your team already understands.
Step 4: Follow-Up (2-4 Weeks After)
Post-training support includes:
- Prompt library review — Feedback on the prompt libraries participants built during the course
- Adoption check-in — A 30-minute call to review adoption progress and address challenges
- Q&A session — An optional group session (30-60 minutes) to answer questions that arose from real-world use
- Recommendations report — A summary of observed skill levels, adoption recommendations, and suggested next steps
What Can Be Customised?
Nearly every element of an in-house programme can be tailored. Here are the most common customisation areas:
Industry Context
- Financial services: compliance-heavy examples, regulatory documentation, audit support
- Manufacturing: SOPs, quality reports, supply chain communications
- Professional services: client deliverables, proposal writing, research summaries
- Healthcare: patient communications, clinical documentation, policy drafting
- Technology: product documentation, sprint planning, user research synthesis
- Retail and e-commerce: product descriptions, customer service responses, inventory reports
Role Mix
- Executive sessions: strategic overview, ROI frameworks, governance decisions
- Manager sessions: team adoption planning, use case identification, measurement
- Individual contributor sessions: hands-on skill building, prompt engineering, daily workflow integration
- Mixed sessions: foundations for all, with breakout tracks by function
Exercise Types
- Document-based: participants work with their own real documents
- Scenario-based: realistic situations from their industry
- Challenge-based: timed exercises with specific quality criteria
- Collaborative: team exercises building shared prompt libraries
Governance Policies
- Data classification frameworks specific to your organisation
- Tool-by-tool usage guidelines (which tools for which tasks)
- Approval workflows for AI-generated content
- Compliance mapping to relevant regulations (PDPA, UU PDP, GDPR)
Tool Focus
- ChatGPT (GPT-4o, GPT-4): general-purpose AI assistance
- Claude (Anthropic): extended document analysis, nuanced writing
- Microsoft Copilot: M365-integrated workflows
- Industry-specific tools: legal AI, healthcare AI, financial analysis tools
Language
- English (British or American conventions)
- Bilingual delivery (English + Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, or Mandarin)
- Multilingual materials with English instruction
Cost: In-House vs Public Courses
| Participants | Public Course (per person) | In-House Course (per person) | In-House Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Lower | Higher | Public is more cost-effective |
| 10 | Comparable | Comparable | In-house matches on price, wins on quality |
| 15 | Higher total | Lower per person | In-house is more cost-effective |
| 20+ | Significantly higher total | Substantially lower per person | In-house is clearly the better investment |
| 30+ | Multiple sessions needed | Single session possible | In-house saves time and total cost |
The breakeven point is typically 8-12 participants. Beyond that threshold, in-house training costs less per person than public courses while delivering significantly more relevant content.
For companies with 20+ participants, in-house training is almost always the right choice on both quality and cost grounds.
Funding Can Reduce Costs Further
With HRDF (Malaysia) covering up to 100% and SkillsFuture (Singapore) covering 70-90%, the out-of-pocket cost for in-house training can be minimal. The customisation premium over public courses is often fully absorbed by government subsidies.
Delivery Options
In-house programmes can be delivered in three formats, each with distinct advantages:
| Format | Best For | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-site (your office or venue) | Teams in one location, hands-on culture | No travel for participants, familiar environment, team bonding | Requires suitable training space |
| Virtual (video conference) | Distributed teams, multi-city organisations | No venue costs, flexible scheduling, recording possible | Less informal interaction |
| Hybrid (core group on-site + remote participants) | Organisations with HQ + remote staff | Includes everyone, core group gets in-person energy | Requires good AV setup, facilitator manages two audiences |
On-Site Delivery
The most popular option for companies with a central office. Participants benefit from in-person energy, easier hands-on support from the instructor, and the team-building aspect of learning together. We can deliver at your office, a hotel meeting room, a co-working space, or any venue with reliable Wi-Fi and a projector.
Available locations: Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Penang, Johor Bahru, and other Southeast Asian cities by arrangement.
Virtual Delivery
Increasingly popular, especially for organisations with offices across multiple cities or countries. Virtual delivery uses Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet with breakout rooms for department-specific sessions and screen sharing for hands-on practice review.
Virtual delivery works particularly well for the in-house format because participants use their own work environment — their actual documents, tools, and setup — making exercises immediately realistic.
Hybrid Delivery
The most complex format to facilitate well, but valuable for organisations that need to include both headquarters staff and remote team members. We recommend having at least 60% of participants in person for the best group dynamics.
The Scoping Process: How to Get Started
Timeline
| Stage | Standard Programme | Highly Customised Programme |
|---|---|---|
| Initial enquiry to needs assessment | 1-3 days | 1-3 days |
| Needs assessment to curriculum draft | 1 week | 2-3 weeks |
| Curriculum review and revisions | 3-5 days | 1-2 weeks |
| Delivery preparation | 3-5 days | 1 week |
| Total lead time | 2-4 weeks | 4-6 weeks |
How to Begin
- Contact us with your approximate group size, preferred dates, and a brief description of what you are hoping to achieve
- Needs assessment call — a 60-90 minute conversation to understand your organisation's context, objectives, and constraints
- Proposal and curriculum draft — we provide a detailed programme outline with pricing, customisation details, and logistics
- Review and refine — you provide feedback, we adjust until the programme fits perfectly
- Delivery — the course is delivered to your team
- Follow-up — post-training support as described above
There is no obligation until you approve the final proposal. The needs assessment and curriculum draft are complimentary.
Funding Your In-House AI Course
Malaysia — HRDF
In-house programmes are fully eligible for HRDF claims. The Human Resources Development Fund (administered by HRD Corp) covers up to 100% of training costs through SBL or SBL-Khas schemes. Submit through HRD Corp's e-Trak system at least 30 days before the training date. Pertama Partners is a registered training provider and handles the documentation requirements.
Singapore — SkillsFuture
In-house corporate training qualifies for 70-90% subsidies through SkillsFuture Singapore. Enhanced rates of up to 90% apply for SMEs and mature workers (aged 40+). The SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) provides additional support of up to SGD 10,000 for eligible employers.
Indonesia — Kartu Prakerja and Tax Incentives
Indonesia's Kartu Prakerja programme and corporate training tax deduction schemes may apply to in-house programmes. Custom-designed corporate training often qualifies for higher incentive tiers. Contact us for current eligibility details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum group size for in-house training? We recommend a minimum of 8 participants to justify the customisation investment. For groups smaller than 8, a public course or small-group coaching format may be more cost-effective. There is no maximum — for groups larger than 30, we add a co-facilitator to maintain interaction quality.
How far in advance do we need to book? Standard programmes need 2-4 weeks of lead time. Highly customised programmes with industry-specific case studies and bespoke exercises need 4-6 weeks. For urgent requirements, we can deliver a lightly customised programme within 1-2 weeks.
Can we mix seniority levels in one session? Yes, and we often recommend it. When executives, managers, and individual contributors learn together, they develop a shared vocabulary and aligned expectations for AI use. The breakout sessions provide role-appropriate depth within the shared programme. However, if executives prefer a separate strategic session, we can arrange that.
Do you provide post-training support? Yes. Every in-house programme includes a follow-up check-in (2-4 weeks post-training) and prompt library review. Extended coaching packages are available for organisations wanting ongoing support — monthly Q&A sessions, prompt library audits, and adoption progress reviews.
Can the programme be delivered in languages other than English? Yes. We offer bilingual delivery in English paired with Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, or Mandarin. Materials can be prepared in multiple languages. Instruction is typically bilingual, with technical terms explained in both languages.
Explore More
- Best AI Courses for Companies in Malaysia — Compare all AI course options for Malaysian companies
- Best AI Courses for Companies in Singapore — Compare AI course options for Singaporean companies
- AI Course vs AI Training — What Is the Difference? — Understand the terminology and find the right format
- How to Choose the Right AI Course for Your Team — Decision framework for selecting the right programme
- Measuring ROI on AI Courses — How to quantify the business impact of AI training
Frequently Asked Questions
In-house AI courses typically cost $15,000-$50,000 for groups of 15-30 participants (1-2 days). Per-person costs are often lower than public courses for groups of 10+. With HRDF (Malaysia) or SkillsFuture (Singapore) funding, effective costs can be significantly reduced or eliminated.
Allow 2-4 weeks for a standard programme, or 4-6 weeks for heavily customised content that requires industry research and bespoke exercises. High-demand periods (Q1 budget season, September training season) may require longer lead times.