The Nations Foundation has launched its Learn to Earn Programme, a new free skills-development initiative designed to equip individuals with practical abilities that can help create pathways to employment, entrepreneurship and greater economic independence.
The programme is the brainchild of Pamela O’Toole, Co-founder of Nations Inc., who, together with a group of individuals committed to community development, began exploring ways in which practical and accessible training could create meaningful opportunities for people who may not always have access to traditional educational or employment pathways.
At the heart of that vision were the women and young people of Tiger Bay, Georgetown, and the question of how practical skills could be used not only for personal development, but as a means of creating income, building confidence and improving livelihoods.
The Learn to Earn Programme is being developed through the Nations Foundation, which was established in memory of the late Dr. Brian O’Toole, Co-founder of Nations Inc. Dr. O’Toole dedicated much of his life to education and to creating opportunities for people to realise their potential, particularly through initiatives that could positively impact individuals, families and communities.
Through the Foundation, that commitment to service and opportunity continues. The philosophy behind Learn to Earn is simple: learning a practical skill can be the beginning of an earning opportunity.
Rather than focusing only on formal qualifications, the programme will provide accessible, hands-on workshops at no cost in skills that participants can potentially use to earn additional income, establish small businesses, provide services within their communities or continue into more advanced training.
The first Learn to Earn activity, a Pastry Making Workshop, was held on Saturday, 15 August 2026 with 34 participants at the School of the Nations in Georgetown. Participants received hands-on guidance in preparing popular baked products and were actively involved throughout the practical session. In addition, a presentation on the Guyana Development Bank was made by Chief Planning Officer in the Ministry of Education, Ms Mischka White-Griffith, and a short study on families took place utilizing quotations from the major religions.
While pastry making marked the beginning of the programme, the vision for Learn to Earn extends much further.
Future workshops are expected to explore a range of practical and income-generating areas, including sewing and garment alteration, crafts, beauty services, food production, agriculture, digital skills and entrepreneurship.
An important component of the programme will also be helping participants understand the journey from skill to enterprise. As the initiative develops, training opportunities will seek to incorporate practical areas such as costing, pricing, packaging, customer service, marketing and the use of digital platforms to reach potential customers.
The programme is intended to remain practical, responsive and community-focused, with future activities shaped by both community needs and opportunities for participants to turn newly acquired skills into something economically meaningful.
For Pamela O’Toole and those involved in developing the initiative, Learn to Earn represents more than a series of workshops. It is an opportunity to continue a tradition of Nations of education, service and community development while giving people practical tools that may help them create new possibilities for themselves and their families.
The Nations Foundation hopes that the programme will grow into a sustained platform through which individuals from communities across Guyana can access practical learning opportunities, develop their confidence and discover that a skill learned today could become an opportunity tomorrow.
The inaugural Pastry Making Workshop is therefore only the beginning.
