La formazione dura tre settimane, e poi ogni dipendente lavora con una collega più esperta.

Dura comes from the verb durare, which means to last. So La formazione dura tre settimane literally means The training lasts three weeks.

This is a very common way to talk about duration in Italian:

• Il film dura due ore = The movie lasts two hours
• La riunione dura mezz’ora = The meeting lasts half an hour

After durare, Italian usually gives the length of time directly, without per.

So:

• dura tre settimane = lasts three weeks

This is the normal pattern. English does something similar with lasts three weeks.

You may sometimes see per tre settimane in other contexts, but after durare, the direct expression of time is the most natural choice.

E poi means and then or and after that.

It links the two parts of the sentence:

• first, the training lasts three weeks
• then, each employee works with a more experienced colleague

So poi marks the next step in the process.

Because ogni means each, and it is followed by a singular noun in Italian.

So:

• ogni dipendente = each employee
• not ogni dipendenti

This is a very important pattern:

• ogni giorno = every day
• ogni persona = every person
• ogni studente = every student

Even though the meaning refers to many people or things, the noun stays singular after ogni.

Because the subject is ogni dipendente, which is grammatically singular.

Even though ogni dipendente refers to all employees one by one, Italian treats it as singular:

• Ogni dipendente lavora... = Each employee works...

So the verb must be singular:

• lavora, not lavorano

Dipendente can refer to either a male or female employee. It is a noun that has the same singular form for both genders in many contexts.

So:

• ogni dipendente can mean each employee, regardless of gender

If you wanted to make gender explicit, context or other words could clarify it. But here it is being used in a general, gender-neutral way.

Yes. Una collega means a female colleague.

The noun collega is one of those Italian nouns that can refer to either a man or a woman, but the article shows the gender:

• un collega = a male colleague
• una collega = a female colleague

So this sentence specifically says that each employee works with a female colleague.

Because the adjective must agree with collega, and here collega is feminine because of una.

So:

• una collega più esperta = a more experienced female colleague

Agreement here is feminine singular:

• esperta matches collega understood as feminine

If it were masculine, you would have:

• un collega più esperto

Più means more, and esperta means experienced. Together they form a comparative:

• più esperta = more experienced

Italian often forms comparatives with:

• più + adjective

Examples:

• più grande = bigger
• più veloce = faster
• più utile = more useful

So una collega più esperta means a more experienced colleague.

Yes. Collega is a good example of a noun whose ending does not tell you the gender by itself. The article does the work:

• il collega / un collega = male colleague
• la collega / una collega = female colleague

So learners should not always assume that a noun ending in -a is feminine.

In Italian, adjectives can come after the noun, and that is very common here. So:

• una collega più esperta = a more experienced colleague

This sounds natural and straightforward. The adjective phrase più esperta describes collega and comes after it.

If you moved things around, the sentence might sound less natural or change emphasis. The order used here is the most standard one.

Yes. Con means with.

So:

• lavora con una collega più esperta = works with a more experienced colleague

It shows that the employee works together with that person, likely for guidance or training.

Grammatically, it uses the present tense:

• dura
• lavora

But in Italian, the present tense is often used to describe schedules, procedures, and general facts. So here it sounds like a standard process or company procedure:

• the training lasts three weeks
• then each employee works with a more experienced colleague

English often does the same thing in procedural descriptions.