While the way we learn and develop skills remains fundamentally the same, our understanding of effective learning and the tools available to support it continue to evolve. Drawing on both extensive training data and personal experience, in this session I will share insights and stories from training programmes over the years, both big and small. Highlighting key lessons, notable successes, and some unexpected outcomes. Along the way, we will explore how culture, assumptions, and deeply held beliefs can shape the delivery of mainframe training, often producing results that no one anticipated.