Learn English – English idiom for learning a skill by observing someone else doing it

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I've had this silly obsession for a while: I can't seem to find a proper phrase in English that is as expressive and 'colorful' as the idiom in my native language that describes learning a new skill by watching someone else doing it, without being actively/intentionally trained how to do it.

In my native language (Romanian) we have a fura meserie — it literally means 'to steal someone's trade'.

Is there an English equivalent? This question has been bugging me a bit more that it should.

Best Answer

In the business context the phrase often used to convey this meaning is:

Work shadowing

the activity of spending time with someone who is doing a particular job so that you can learn how to do it: You need to get quality work experience or do some work shadowing. - Cambridge.

Where the word shadow expresses the idea that you follow the person you are learning from like a shadow to observe what they are doing.

Job shadowing and work shadowing are two phrases used interchangeably:

Job shadowing allows the observer to see and understand the nuances of a particular job. The job shadowing employee is able to observe how the employee does the job, the key deliverables expected from the job, and the employees with whom the job interacts.

-- from the article: Job Shadowing Is Effective On-the-Job Training at thebalance.com

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