STANDING IN THE GAP: AMBER’S STORY

Standing in the gap: Amber Specman leads a team that changes the lives of unemployed people in South Africa in ways that go beyond giving them a new skillset. ‘We make sure they leave with a plan for their lives,’ she says | Photo: Nicky Elliot

Amber (34) was born in 1991 and raised in Paarl. Her father is a magistrate and her mother worked in a pharmacy. She did an undergraduate degree in social dynamics and a master’s in political science, both at Stellenbosch University. In 2024, she became the Khayelitsha branch manager of Learn to Earn, a non-profit organisation that has upskilled nearly 19 000 unemployed people. Amber is married to professional Rugby Sevens player Rosko Specman, and they live in Somerset West

I was seven when my mother died but I never felt alone because my aunts and grandmother showed up for me in a very motherly way. I always felt this was God’s way of showing me comfort and love.

I became aware of injustice around that time because I saw the difference in lifestyles between my two sets of grandparents. My grandmother was a nurse and my grandfather had his own business so we didn’t want for much, whereas on my dad’s side of the family they grew up in a less privileged space, with parents and five children living in a two-bedroom house. These circumstances were more of a driving force than a source of bitterness, but the contrast was stark.

The idea of making a difference came during my first year at university when I had the maturity to see life’s bigger picture. I started working at Learn to Earn after a friend sent me a link to its website. My thesis had been about non-state organisations which stand in the gap for government, and Learn to Earn was doing just that, giving people skills and a way to support themselves where no other options exist.

‘Learn to Earn gives people a way to support themselves where no other options exist,’ says Amber. Here, Nonjongo Njikelana stitches her way into a brighter future on the organisation’s sewing course and hope rises in Bake for Profit student Asandiswa Sityo-Madikidikane  | Top photo: Nicky Elliot

Based in Khayelitsha and Hermanus, Learn to Earn trains unemployed people with limited education or social capital in nine different skillsets that range from baking and barista to sewing and graphic design.

The courses range from 3 weeks to 21 weeks and the average monthly income of a student when they start is R1 054 [about 45 pounds]. After completing one of our courses, it rises to R5 184 [about 220 pounds] as three-quarters of our graduates become economically active, either through formal employment or operating their own business.

Learn to Earn’s latest stats show that the average monthly income of its students increases nearly fivefold after they complete a course

To ensure our courses are accessible, we subsidise our fees heavily: students pay under 5% of the real cost to us. The balance is raised through donations from individuals, corporates, trusts and churches. This means we often have financial challenges, but we’ve lasted for 36 years, which is quite something in the non-profit world.

However small, the students’ contributions are compulsory because we believe in ‘a hand up not a hand out’ approach to human development. By paying a part of their training fees, they become contributing partners in their own development. This disables the problem of a disempowering hand-out mentality.

We focus on four key areas: economic, emotional, social and spiritual, elements that are all connected through the core-skill and life-skills courses. We can teach someone how to bake, but if we don’t help them work through trauma or learn to communicate, how does that help?

We intentionally create space for personal growth and many of our students learn to navigate relationships and gain confidence in themselves. Some emerge spiritually renewed from the Alpha Course that we offer, which is for anyone with questions about Christianity, and is optional as we’re open to people of all faiths. At our graduations, and when sharing their stories, our graduates often focus on how they’ve grown as people and found healing for their trauma rather than the impact of the skill they’ve gained.

come alive

One of the most rewarding parts of my work is seeing this change in our students. In our recent graphic design course, we had two very reserved students. One had experienced a challenging childhood in a children’s home, and the other only spoke when spoken to. Over the weeks I watched them come alive and engaged and it was deeply rewarding to see the impact of the course go beyond just skills. Today, one is studying graphic design at Cape College on a state bursary, and the other has been accepted to take the subject further at Ruth Prowse School of Art and is waiting for news on his bursary application.

Barista student Kimberley Phiri gets some expert input on the delicate art of milk steaming from trainer Estiaan Swanepoel | Photo: Nicky Elliot

Many students arrive wanting an income to provide for their families, but feeling worthless. We believe every student is valuable and strive to make them understand their intrinsic value that has nothing to do with what they produce, but with what God says about the value of all human beings. We make sure they leave not only with a certificate but with clarity about their next steps and a plan for their lives, no matter how big or small.

I try to bring God into all parts of my life, whether it’s praying for the students or trying to hear what He wants for my marriage. About two years ago, I heard a pastor speak about practising the presence of God.

Amber with Blitzbok husband Rosko, a winger who has represented South Africa 150 times in Rugby Sevens. ‘I try to bring God into all parts of my life, whether it’s praying for the students or trying to hear what He wants for my marriage,’ she says

It’s such a simple idea that just means inviting Jesus into your daily routine, even while washing dishes: silently praising Him or having a mental conversation with Him. The pastor said the Holy Spirit is always with us, so in frustrating moments, like when the car doesn’t start, I remind myself to invite God into that space for patience and guidance. He either sends help or shows the next step.

So often, we can’t even begin to understand God’s ways but I do believe He wants to use us all, and has placed me at Learn to Earn to play a part in helping change people’s lives. I believe He has his hand over this organisation ♦

‘Hope for the future is what we aim to give our students,’ says Amber, here seen on Learn to Earn’s Khayelitsha campus with its Chief Operating Officer, Genevieve Kruger. Says Genevieve, who’s been with the organisation for 12 years, ‘I believe each of us has something to give that’s not meant to be kept to ourselves, whether it’s time, encouragement, a listening ear or financial support’ | Photo: Nicky Elliot

Abongile Simanga recently completed Learn to Earn’s Basic Barista course and now works five days a week making coffee at a Starbucks in Cape Town. He says: ‘Now I have more confidence and I’ve gained a skill that changed my life, being a barista means a lot. In my family, ever since I’m working, we don’t sleep without eating. Everything has changed’

Audrey Malabi has been operating a successful baking business since she graduated in 2024 from Learn to Earn’s Bake for Profit course.  She sells doughnuts, bread dough, steam bread and chicken pieces. ‘I no longer depend on my family for financial support and now look forward to waking up every day,’ she says. ‘Being able to work for myself has given me my self-confidence back. I am grateful to God for Learn to Earn, they have changed my life’

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