Competencies and Qualifications Required under Household Services Scheme to Provide Eldercare Services

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what are the basic competencies and qualifications required of workers under the Household Services Scheme (HSS) who are eligible to provide eldercare services; (b) whether there are plans to expand the scope of HSS to include caring services for special-needs children and adults; and (b) how will the Ministry ensure the availability of timely and adequate training courses for these workers.

Dr Tan See Leng: Companies under the Household Services Scheme (HSS) pilot that provide basic elder-minding services must ensure that their workers have completed relevant elder-minding training or passed the competency assessment recommended by the Ministry of Health and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC). HSS workers providing such services are to be equipped with basic eldercare skills, such as how to safely support the elderly in activities of daily living and assist them with simple exercises. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and AIC are monitoring the take-up rate of the elder-minding training courses and will expand the training capacity if needed.

At the moment, MOM has no plans to expand the scope of HSS to include care services for individuals with special needs who require more specialised care. Such households can consider existing home-based care programmes run by various Social Service Agencies, such as the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore. Households which need more information on care options for persons with disabilities can contact SG Enable.