SINGAPORE, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Center for Domestic Employees (CDE) will introduce Chinese dialect courses such as in Hokkien and Cantonese next year for migrant domestic workers, Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang announced Sunday, local media reported.

This initiative aims to help domestic workers communicate more effectively with their employers, Gan said in her speech at an event marking the incoming International Migrants Day.

In addition to language courses, the CDE, a non-governmental organization established by the National Trades Union Congress, will partner with the Healthcare Academy to offer advanced caregiving training, including courses in dementia care and infant care.

According to Singapore's latest population census published in 2021, 8.7 percent of residents aged five and older spoke Chinese dialects most frequently at home. When broken down by age, 21.9 percent of residents aged 55 and above used Chinese dialects as their primary language at home, with 33 percent of this group not speaking a second language.

"The introduction of dialect lessons ... will foster trust and long-lasting relationships," Gan said in her address.

The CDE will also support migrant workers by providing free counseling services and mental health workshops in partnership with Silver Ribbon (Singapore), a non-profit organization focused on combatting mental health stigma and promoting early intervention. Employers will also have access to free workshops to help them better support their domestic workers.

As of June 2024, there are over 294,900 migrant domestic workers in Singapore, making up 19 percent of the city-state's total foreign workforce, according to the Ministry of Manpower.