They give general assistance to a first-class fellow (5)
I believe the answer is:
aides
'a first-class fellow' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'they give general assistance' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'assistance' could be 'aid' (synonyms) and 'aid' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'es' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for aides that I've seen before include "Helpers" , "Military assistants to a senior officers" , "Ministerial assistants" , "Helpful officers" , "Confidential assistants" .)