Orange is a French phone company. They have engineers who need to learn about cloud technologies. Cloud technologies are computer systems on the internet. Orange does not send these engineers to six-month training courses. The employees join new teams immediately. They keep their salary. They keep their job security. They learn while they work. Mentors help them. Mentors are experienced workers who teach others. Vincent Lecerf works at Orange. He is the executive vice-president of human resources. Human resources means the department that manages workers. He says: "What makes the difference is not just the quality of the training but of the mentor—the feeling that as a learner you're supported."

This approach solves a common problem. Traditional training often fails. Compliance courses tick boxes. This means they complete requirements. But they do not have real impact. On-demand learning libraries promise flexibility. This means workers can learn when they want. But these libraries struggle to attract users. Daniel Godfrey works at Hemsley Fraser. Hemsley Fraser is a training provider. A training provider is a company that teaches workers. He says: "People are so busy that only if learning affects the job they're doing right now will they get involved."

Humans are good at learning from each other. This is fortunate. Matthew Lieberman is a psychologist. A psychologist is a scientist who studies how people think. His research shows something important. Teaching others helps our own learning. When we explain concepts, our brain works harder. Concepts are ideas. The brain then shows us our knowledge gaps. Knowledge gaps are things we do not know yet. The brain also makes stronger what we have understood. Some companies use this idea. Infinox is a fintech firm. Fintech means financial technology. At Infinox, dealers and relationship managers swap skills. Dealers are people who buy and sell. Relationship managers are people who work with clients. They teach each other their different skills. Spark Foundry is a media agency. A media agency is a company that works with advertising and communications. They hold lunchtime debates. Staff research different perspectives. Perspectives are different ways of thinking. Then they argue these different perspectives.

Brain science shows us how to make learning better. Sleep is very important. The brain processes information while we rest. Processing information means working with information and understanding it. The brain forms memories when we sleep. Breaking training into chunks works better than full-day sessions. Chunks are small pieces. This allows practice. This allows reflection. Reflection means thinking about what you learned. Mixing learning with real tasks helps too. For example, you practice a new IT system. IT means information technology or computer systems. You practice while serving customers at the same time. This helps the brain. The brain shifts information from working memory into storage. Working memory is where the brain keeps information for a short time. Storage is where the brain keeps information for a long time. Then you can access this information easily.

Robert and Elizabeth Bjork are psychologists. Their research shows something important. For knowledge to stick, learning must be effortful. Effortful means it requires effort and work. Learning must allow mistakes. But what about high-risk roles? High-risk roles are jobs where errors could cause harm. In these jobs, mistakes could be dangerous. Technology provides solutions. Solutions are answers to problems. Immersive is a UK cyber resilience company. Cyber resilience means protection against computer attacks. They help clients prepare for attacks. They create mock attacks. Mock attacks are practice attacks that are not real. They use simulated news reports. Simulated means fake or created for practice. They use panicked social media responses. James Hadley is the founder. A founder is the person who started the company. He says: "By solving a problem you're going through the thought processes. You're building that muscle memory because when you do get hacked, you want to be ready to respond." Muscle memory means your body or brain remembers how to do something automatically. Getting hacked means criminals attack your computer systems.