Employers must meet all three (3) eligibility criteria below to participate in the HRD Awards 2026:
- Employers with high levy utilisation in 2025 - At least 90% for large employers and 85% for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
- Levy Compliance – No outstanding levy arrears or interest.
- Legal Compliance – No ongoing or outstanding legal cases.
*Notes:
Employer size classifications are as follows:
- Large employers: 200 or more employees in the manufacturing sector and 75 or more employees in the services sector.
- SMEs: Fewer than 200 employees in the manufacturing sector and fewer than 75 employees in the services sector.
Recipients of the HRD Awards serve as role models who inspire their peers and drive transformative change across the human resource landscape.
The Human Resources Minister Award will be presented to the highest-performing applicant across the six (6) categories, based on the overall assessment of their performance, proposal submission and evaluation by an external panel, subject to further assessment and validation.
The HRD Corp Award represents the second tier of recognition and will be awarded to high-performing applicants within each award category.
The Excellence Award represents the third tier of recognition and will be awarded to high-performing applicants within each award category.
SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL DECK
The HRD Awards 2026 incorporates six (6) award categories that recognise excellence across key areas of workforce development and organisational capability.
Organisations with the highest overall scores across all six categories will receive the Human Resources Minister Award, HRD Corp Award and the Excellence Award, respectively.
- This award recognises organisations that demonstrate a strong commitment to developing their workforce by ensuring employees across all levels and segments are given equitable opportunities to participate in training, upskilling and reskilling initiatives. onstrate a strong commitment to developing their workforce by ensuring employees across all levels and segments are given equitable opportunities to participate in training, upskilling and reskilling initiatives.
- Judges will assess the breadth and inclusiveness of training participation across various employee levels and workforce segments, as well as the organisation’s efforts to ensure learning and development opportunities are not limited to selected groups or management.
- This award recognises organisations that demonstrate meaningful and strategic investment in employee learning and development, reflecting a clear commitment to building workforce capabilities and supporting employees’ growth.
- Judges will assess how the organisation strategically invests in learning and development, including the level and consistency of investment, alignment of training with workforce and business needs, and the extent to which learning opportunities contribute to building relevant skills and capabilities across the organisation.
- This award recognises an organisation that demonstrates a strong commitment to preparing its workforce for future skills through technology-enabled learning, digital transformation and Industry 4.0 (Focus Area).
- Judges will look at how the organisation identifies emerging skills needs and implements future-focused learning initiatives that enhance workforce readiness and support business transformation.
- This award recognises an organisation that has established a strong culture of continuous and adaptable learning across its workforce.
- Judges will assess how the organisation develops employees across diverse skills, capability areas and learning modes, enabling employees to continuously acquire and apply new knowledge in response to changing business needs.
- This award recognises an organisation that places strong emphasis on developing practical, workplace-relevant capabilities through hands-on training, technical skills development and professional certification.
- Judges will look at how these initiatives enhance employees’ job-related competencies, improve workplace performance and strengthen the organisation’s overall workforce capability.
- This award recognises an organisation that demonstrates a significant contribution to skills development within its industry and actively collaborates with industry stakeholders in promoting learning and development.
- Judges will assess how the organisation’s learning and development initiatives address industry-specific skills needs, strengthen workforce capabilities and contribute to the advancement of skills standards and practices within the industry.
