What First Move is, and what it is not: a guide for parents

Key facts

• First Move is a three-day, non-residential career exploration programme run by Mereka for school leavers aged 17 to 19.^[1]
• The first cohort is planned for Sunday 20 to Tuesday 22 December 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, about 09:00 to 17:00. Times are proposed and the venue address is still to be confirmed.^[1]
• The apply page shows RM1,500 per learner. Partner-funded places are available for students from lower-income families.^[2][3]
• The refund rules in the booking terms are proposed and not yet in effect.^[1]
• It is not an accredited qualification, a diagnosis of the right career, or a promise of a university place, a scholarship or a job.^[1]

In short

First Move is three days of trying real work, talking to people who do it and writing a plan for the next 90 days, held just after SPM 2026 papers end on 17 December 2026.^[4][5] Your child does not need to know what they want to do before they come.

The facts for the first cohort

• When: Sunday 20, Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 December 2026, about 09:00 to 17:00. The times are proposed, and any change is confirmed in writing.^[1]
• Where: Kuala Lumpur. The venue address is still to be confirmed and comes with the joining instructions.^[1] It is non-residential, so your child goes home each evening.
• Group: small pods of nine, each with trained facilitators.^[3]
• Price: RM1,500 per learner on the apply page.^[2] The full price, including any tax, is shown before you pay, and the site says the final price is checked when payment opens.^[1][3]
• Help with the fee: partner-funded places are limited. Two people from the team review each application, and applying does not guarantee a place.^[6]
• Included: eight career areas on show, two 90-minute job tasters, eight 12-minute conversations with working adults, an AI task analysis, a first-salary simulation, a First Move Plan reviewed with a facilitator, lunch and two breaks each day, materials, a participation certificate, a parent opening and share-out (or a trusted-adult option), and a 30-day check-in.^[1]
• Not included: travel and accommodation. Funded learners can ask privately about access support.^[1]

Your child ranks the tasters they want, but first choices cannot be guaranteed.^[1]

If you need to cancel

The booking terms are still a draft. These are the proposed rules, which wait for approval and do not limit your rights under Malaysian consumer law.^[1]

If Mereka cancels, or changes the date or place in a way you do not accept, you get a full refund. You can pass the place to another eligible learner once, free, until 13 December 2026. A sponsor-funded place has no cash refund to the learner.^[1][3]

Where you come in

You are invited twice: a 45-minute opening at 09:00 on Day 1, and a 60-minute share-out at 16:00 on Day 3, where your child presents their Future Map to you.^[3][4] Day 3 is a Tuesday. If you cannot come, a trusted adult can come instead, or you can join privately by video, and your child keeps their place.^[3]

What First Move is not

• It is not a test. The Future Map your child builds is their own record, not a test score.^[3]
• It does not hand out a career. The booking terms say it is not "a diagnosis of the right career".^[1] Your child leaves with two options worth investigating, with reasons, and three dated actions for the next 90 days.^[4]
• It does not label your child. The map is not a personality type or a prediction of the right career.^[3]
• It is not an admissions advantage. It is not a promise of a university place, a scholarship or a job.^[1] We make no claim that universities or sponsors give it extra weight.
• It is not accredited. The certificate records participation, and First Move is not an accredited qualification.^[1]

How AI is used

AI is a tool your child uses, questions and checks. It does not decide for them.

• Before Day 1 (optional). If the discovery conversation is open for your child's cohort, they can talk or type with an AI interviewer for 10 to 15 minutes, in English, Bahasa Malaysia or a mix. It is not a test. They can fill in a form that no AI reads or writes instead, and saying no does not change their place.^[7][4]
• Their voice is not recorded. In voice mode the audio is streamed to OpenAI to run the conversation, and Explorers does not record or save it. The written transcript is kept until a date your child sees before agreeing, and they can delete it sooner.^[7]
• On Day 2, learners break one job into tasks and tag each as left alone, augmented, automated or created by AI.^[4]
• In the plan, if the cohort uses AI suggestions and your child agrees, AI can suggest up to two directions to explore. Each stays a draft until your child decides.^[7]
• What AI never does: give a score or grade, label personality, predict a career, make a decision for your child, or ask for IC numbers, addresses, religion, health or family income.^[7] No AI account is needed, and when a session uses an AI assistant, an adult runs it on a shared screen.^[7]

What you can and cannot see

Your child invites you. You sign in with your own Mereka account, and the invitation link works once and lasts 14 days. Mereka never connects a parent by email address or because they paid.^[3]

Source: the parents page.^[3] Of their Future Map, you see the parts your child chooses to share, in a version they publish.^[3] If they choose the AI interview, a verified linked parent gets a short notice saying so, without their answers.^[7] For a child under 18, you agree to them taking part through your own account. From 18, your child decides whether you follow their programme.^[3]

Photos, video and stories are optional and separate from joining. Saying no never affects a place or funding.^[1]

This can feel odd when you are the one paying. It is deliberate: young people tend to be more honest about what they enjoyed and what worried them when they know it is theirs to share. The share-out is where you hear the plan from them.

After the three days

The programme page describes 90 days of follow-through: your child works on their actions, adds what they find, and checks in at 30 and 90 days.^[4] The booking terms list the 30-day check-in as included.^[1] Access to the Explorers portal and app for 90 days after the programme is part of the current design and is still being built.^[8]

Questions worth asking us

The site does not yet publish answers to these, so ask before you book:

• Who are the facilitators and practitioners, and what safeguarding checks have they had?
• Who is first-aid trained on the day, and what happens if my child feels unwell?
• When will we get the venue address, the final times and the collection arrangements?
• How do I ask about a funded place privately?

Email [email protected], or book an online parent info session(opens in a new tab).

What this means for your child

• They can come without a career answer. The three days are for testing options, not confirming one.
• They leave with two options and three dated next steps, not a verdict, so the decision stays open and stays theirs.
• Most of what you learn about their plan will come from them, at the share-out and after. Ask them; the app will not show you their private work.
• Some details are still being settled (the venue address, the final refund rules, the after-programme access), so expect updates in writing before December.

Your next step

1. Read the booking terms(opens in a new tab) with your child before you pay, including the proposed refund table.
2. Put Day 1 at 09:00 and Day 3 at 16:00 in your calendar now, or agree who your trusted adult will be.