Employees Trained as Mental Health First Responders

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has set any targets on the number of workers trained as mental health first responder; (b) if so, what are they; (c) what is the rationale for these targets; and (d) what is the timeline towards achieving these targets.

Mental health first responders are equipped to spot signs of mental distress and common mental health conditions, provide initial support to their co-workers, and subsequently guide the person in distress to seek relevant professional help. Today, organisations can already tap on the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council’s Total WSH Programme, which provides free mental well-being workshops to equip workers with basic mental health first aid competencies. Since January this year where Total WSH providers have started to offer mental health first responder courses, around 60 participants have attended the training. We will continue to promote the adoption of this course, especially with the easing of COVID-19 measures in the year ahead.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) does not set specific targets on the number of workers trained as mental health first responders. Instead, we encourage and guide companies to adopt mental well-being initiatives that are most suited for their organisation’s needs, including the provision of mental well-being training.