Mental Health First Aid

While I agree, that empathy is a useful skill for this role and you may struggle with it. I wouldn't let that put you off the course, because the course, if run well, will give you concrete signs to look for, rather than relying on the rather inefficient 'feeling off' that empathy requires.

So I'd do the course, but explain your concern, perhaps a suggestion is that someone else on the team is also trained so it's not just on you? Which should be the case ideally anyway.

You could do the course. Mental Health First Aid is not like general first aid where you may have to deal with heart attacks and life-threatening injuries. It is about offering immediate support and knowing where to get help - as an MHFAider you are not a trained counsellor or amateur therapist. If you do the course and are still not happy, you need to decide what to do ... if your boss knows that you are autistic, explain that you would struggle to offer support to a colleague and that another staff member might be better equipped. It could be a development opportunity for a junior colleague with future supervisory potential.

It could be that your senior management is using MHFA as a sort of mental health awareness training for managers.  As a manager you will probably have some sort of role in performance management, grievances etc. and awareness of mental health issues will be relevant, even if you don't feel comfortable providing personal support - knowing how to refer on, and to whom is still a useful skill. Part of the role of an MH first aider is to encourage the colleague to seek out appropriate help, e.g. from your employee counselling service (if you have one) or their GP.

my manager is supposed to be a MHFA. When I disclosed she emailed to say that as ASD is a long-term condition, I should be aware of what my difficulties were.

Not supportive

Potentially discriminatory

Blows most of the key characteristics out of the water there!

Kim said:

HR know I’m autistic but do not understand what the implications are. 

I would write to them and explain it - in essence you will be put in a situation where you have a duty of care you cannot reasonably be expected to supply due to your disability.

It would be like placing a wheelchair user in an emergency exit row of a plane to help people out in an emergency.

Personally I would weigh up whether HR will consider you unfit for your role if you refuse versus doing the course and faking it to keep the job. I would start with a verbal chat with your boss off the record to find out if it is a dealbreaker for the role,

I’m not empathic and often don’t know what to say when people talk to me about emotional issues. I was told we have to recognise when a staff member is having mental health problems but unless someone told me I wouldn’t know. HR know I’m autistic but do not understand what the implications are. 

Kim said:

I have been told by my HR manager at work that I have to train as a mental health first aider because I am a manager of staff.

I read about the criteria for doing this:

https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/blog/What-is-a-mental-health-first-aider/

MHFAiders embody a set of qualities and values that are fundamental to their role.  MHFAiders should be [1]: 
 
- Approachable: Creating a safe and open environment for communication 
- Impartial: Remaining neutral and non-judgemental to foster trust 
- Non-judgemental: Avoiding biases and preconceived notions 
- Confidential: Respecting the privacy of the individual being supported 
- Empathetic: Demonstrating understanding and compassion 
- Skilled Listener: Practice active listening and empathy 
- Trustworthy: Building trust through consistent and reliable behaviour 
- Patient: Allowing individuals to express themselves at their own pace 

Empathetic is a skill a lot of autists lack - are you confident you have all of these? The other attirbutes of Approachable and Patient are other areas we can be less than ideal in.

I guess you may just have to do it if it is now a requirement of the job, but dealing with people with mental health issues is a bit of a minefield and the anxiety would be a concern for me,