If your helper is caring for an elderly parent, a good caregiver course can make a real difference to both of them. Helping someone out of bed, bathing a person who is unsteady on their feet, or calming a parent with dementia who is confused in the evening are skills that can be taught. A helper who has learned them properly tends to be more confident, and your parent tends to be safer.

Many families do not realise how accessible this training is. Singapore has a catalogue of approved courses for caregivers, including courses designed with migrant domestic workers in mind, and a government grant that helps pay the fees for eligible families. Your helper can qualify for that grant as long as she is the main caregiver.

This guide covers the types of course available, how long they take, how the Caregivers Training Grant works, how to fit training around your helper’s rest days, and how to choose. We link to the official Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) pages throughout, since course lists and grant rules can change.

Why caregiver training matters for a helper

Most helpers arrive with some experience of looking after family members at home, and some have worked with elderly employers before. That experience is valuable, but it varies a great deal. Safe techniques for moving someone with limited mobility, for example, are not always intuitive, and a wrong technique can injure both your parent and your helper.

Structured caregiver training gives her a consistent method. It can also help her understand why your parent behaves in a particular way, which matters greatly with conditions such as dementia, and give her more confidence to raise concerns with you early. At Femme5 we pre-train helpers before they enter your home, and a recognised eldercare course after placement is a sensible next step for families whose parent has specific care needs.

Types of caregiver course available

AIC’s guidance on choosing a training course suggests starting with the skills your caregiver needs, which may be basic caregiving techniques or more specialised skills such as home nursing care or communicating effectively. It also notes that experienced caregivers may want courses on understanding and managing a loved one’s behaviour.

AIC highlights two structured programmes on its Caregivers Training Grant page.

ABCs of Caregiving. AIC describes this as covering the essential skills needed for daily care, based on the care recipient’s mobility. It is organised into sets for a loved one who is frail but ambulant (Set A), bedbound (Set B) or wheelchair bound (Set C), so you can pick the set that matches your parent.
Basic Eldercare Course. AIC describes this as a comprehensive training programme for caregivers, including migrant domestic workers.

Beyond these, the Caregivers Training Catalogue lists other approved courses from different training providers. When browsing, it helps to think about the topics your household actually needs. Common areas families look for include:

Basic eldercare. Personal hygiene, feeding, helping with dressing and toileting, and recognising when something is wrong.
Safe transfers and mobility. Moving someone between bed, chair, wheelchair and toilet, and helping with walking aids, without straining anyone’s back.
Dementia care. Communication, managing confusion or agitation, and keeping a daily routine. Our guide to daily dementia routines for helpers is a useful companion.
Fall prevention and home safety. Spotting hazards and knowing what to do after a fall.

Check each course’s description in the catalogue, since content and approach vary by provider.

How long courses take and where they happen

AIC notes that caregiving courses typically range from 2 to 16 hours. Shorter courses suit a busy household or a single skill, while longer ones give more depth. AIC lists several formats:

Face-to-face classroom sessions
Home-based sessions, where the trainer comes to you
Online courses
Blended courses that mix online lessons with a face-to-face session

AIC recommends physical sessions where possible, as they allow personalised feedback from the trainer. For practical skills like transfers, a home-based session has an extra advantage: the trainer can show your helper how to do the task in your actual bathroom, with your parent’s actual bed and wheelchair.

The Caregivers Training Grant

The Caregivers Training Grant (CTG) makes approved courses more affordable. According to AIC, it works like this.

Who it is for. The care recipient must be a Singapore Citizen or PR, and either aged 65 and above or living with a disability. For disability, they must permanently need some help with at least one of the six activities of daily living, confirmed by an assessment or by already receiving a scheme such as the Home Caregiving Grant or the levy concession for persons with disabilities.
Helpers are eligible. AIC states that migrant domestic workers can use the grant as long as they are the main caregiver of an eligible care recipient.
How much. An eligible care recipient starts with $400 in the first year the grant is used. A $200 top-up is added each year on 1 April, with any unused balance carried forward, and the total capped at $400.
Shared between caregivers. The balance belongs to the care recipient, so a helper and a family member caring for the same parent can both draw on it.
Co-payment. There is a co-payment of at least $10 per course, depending on the balance available. Course fees are deducted from the balance and AIC reimburses the provider after the course is completed.
Approved courses only. The grant applies only to courses in the Caregivers Training Catalogue.

Some courses allow SkillsFuture Credit to be used for the co-payment. That credit belongs to individual Singaporeans, so it would apply where a family member attends, not your helper.

How to apply

Choose an approved course from the Caregivers Training Catalogue, which is linked from AIC’s grant page.
Contact the training provider to confirm the course details, dates and fee.
Tell the provider you want to use the grant at least two weeks before the course starts. They will give you the application form and submit it for you.

Because the grant is tied to your parent’s eligibility, the family will need to supply the relevant details. As a matter of good practice, we suggest the employer pays any co-payment, since the training is for the household’s benefit.

Fitting training around your helper’s rest day

This is where well-meaning employers sometimes slip up. Under MOM’s rest day guidance, your helper is entitled to one rest day a week, and since 1 January 2023 at least one rest day a month cannot be compensated away. A rest day means she is released from work.

In our view, training you ask her to attend so she can care for your parent is part of her job. The simplest approach is to schedule it on a working day and arrange cover for your parent during the session. If a course only runs on her usual rest day, discuss it with her. Either agree a replacement rest day, or, if she agrees to give up one of her compensable rest days, pay at least one day’s salary, which MOM calculates as her monthly salary divided by 26. Never use her protected monthly rest day for training. Our guide to rest day rules for helpers explains the details.

How to choose the right course

Start with your parent’s needs. A parent who is bedbound needs different skills from one who walks with a stick. Your parent’s doctor, nurse or therapist can suggest what to focus on.
Consider your helper’s language and experience. Ask the provider about the language of instruction and whether the course suits someone new to caregiving.
Prefer hands-on practice. For physical skills, choose courses with practice and trainer feedback.
Plan the timing. Book early enough to give the provider two weeks’ notice for the grant, and arrange cover for your parent.
Follow up at home. Ask your helper to show you what she learned, and agree how you will apply it in your parent’s routine.

Training works best on top of a good match. If you are still looking for a helper, our elderly caregiver service focuses on helpers with experience caring for older people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my domestic helper attend a subsidised caregiver course?

Yes. AIC states that migrant domestic workers can benefit from the Caregivers Training Grant as long as they are the main caregiver of an eligible care recipient. The care recipient must be a Singapore Citizen or PR aged 65 or above, or have a disability requiring permanent help with at least one activity of daily living. The course must be in AIC’s Caregivers Training Catalogue, and there is a co-payment of at least $10 per course.

How much is the Caregivers Training Grant?

According to AIC, an eligible care recipient starts with $400 in the first year the grant is used. A $200 top-up is added on 1 April each year, unused balance carries forward, and the total is capped at $400. Course fees are deducted from this balance, and multiple caregivers of the same person can share it. Check the AIC page for current amounts before booking.

How long is a caregiver course?

AIC says caregiving courses typically range from 2 to 16 hours. Courses come in classroom, home-based, online and blended formats. For practical skills such as transfers, a classroom or home-based session with hands-on practice is usually more effective than an online course alone. Check the duration and format of each course in the catalogue.

Can I send my helper for training on her rest day?

Training you need her to attend is work, so it is best scheduled on a working day. If a course falls on her rest day, agree a replacement day with her, or, with her agreement, compensate the rest day at no less than one day’s salary, calculated as monthly salary divided by 26. MOM requires at least one rest day a month that cannot be compensated away, so never use that day for training.

Will a course like this make my helper a nurse?

No. A caregiving course teaches safe, practical skills for daily care, such as transfers, hygiene, feeding and dementia communication. It does not qualify a helper to carry out nursing procedures. Medical tasks should stay with your parent’s healthcare team, and home nursing services are available through AIC where needed. Ask your parent’s doctor which tasks are suitable for a trained caregiver.

Conclusion

A caregiver course is one of the most practical investments you can make when your helper is looking after an elderly parent. Courses are short, come in several formats, and are listed in AIC’s Caregivers Training Catalogue. The Caregivers Training Grant helps with the fees for eligible families, and your helper qualifies as long as she is your parent’s main caregiver.

Plan the training around her working days rather than her rest days, pick a course that matches your parent’s mobility and condition, and follow up at home so the skills become routine. Grant amounts and course lists can change, so check the AIC website before you book.

If you would like to talk through finding a helper with elderly care experience, or how to support your current helper in a caregiving role, our consultants are happy to help. You can get in touch with the Femme5 team to discuss your family’s caregiving needs, read more about how we work with employers, or explore what a good placement looks like. A short conversation now tends to prevent a longer one later.

The Femme5 Team
Maid placement specialists, Femme5 Maid Agency
Our consultants work with Singaporean and expatriate families on helper matching, contracts and MOM compliance, and we verify the regulatory guidance in our articles directly against the Ministry of Manpower’s published requirements.

Femme5 Placement Team

Written by the placement specialists at Femme5 Agency Pte Ltd (MOM Licence 19C9763), who match Singapore families with domestic helpers every day.

Caregiver Course for Your Helper: Training Options in Singapore