Rebranding maids to 'home managers'

In a move to benefit all parties concerned, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry will relaunch the home manager programme, latest by May.

More than just maids, these home managers will be qualified persons who have undergone courses in home management, meal preparation, looking after children and the handicapped, as well as healthcare.

While the rebranding is aimed at changing the perception of the public into seeing them in a more positive light, it will also benefit parents who have to work outside the home as they can now feel confident leaving their families in more qualified hands.

Ministry secretary-general, Datuk Sabariah Hassan said the relaunch of the home manager programme – first introduced in 2008 but stopped in 2011 due to technical problems – would be a two-pronged approach to help low-income women such as single mothers, secure jobs.

"It will also reduce dependency on foreign maids," she told Bernama when commenting on the move to relaunch the programme, during an interview at her office in the ministry here last week.

Sabariah also urged local institutes of higher learning to provide home management courses either at certificate or diploma levels.

She said besides providing better skills and qualification to the participants, the courses would change the negative public perception of these jobs, as well as meet demand in a critical area.

"Just as once, people looked down on cooking as a job, with more institutes of learning offering the course, it can now become a choice career, especially among men," she said.

Sabariah said the 14-day course would be conducted jointly with NGOs which had training facilities.

Besides acquiring skills, the participants would also be informed of their rights, she said, adding that the cost for each participant would be RM600.

Sabariah said participants who completed the course could also apply for other jobs such as housekeepers in hotels and nursery assistants.