In this episode of The Talent Fix, Barry Prost speaks with Andrew Hines, Lecturer in Computer Science at University College Dublin, about the real impact of AI on jobs and what skills will continue to matter most.

We explore:

• What generative AI can and can’t do in the workplace

• Why “AI shepherds” are emerging as a crucial role

• The biggest misconceptions about AI in hiring

• The skills future graduates (and current leaders) can’t afford to ignore

• Whether humans will remain “in the loop” or be pushed out

Andrew also shares insights from his work in speech AI, discusses the AI arms race in recruitment, and explains why critical thinking still trumps prompt engineering.

Whether you’re a hiring leader, HR pro, or just wondering how to stay relevant in the AI era, this episode delivers the clarity you need.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro & Guest Welcome

00:49 – What Jobs Will AI Actually Replace?

02:00 – What Gen AI Can and Can’t Do

04:30 – Deterministic vs Stochastic AI

06:00 – AI’s Limits in Structured Environments

08:10 – Why Voice & Translation AI Still Fall Short

10:30 – What Are “AI Shepherds” and Why We Need Them

12:30 – The Case for Keeping a Human in the Loop

14:20 – AI Bias and Cultural Blind Spots

16:00 – Empathy, Context, and Hiring in an AI World

17:40 – The Skills That Still Matter

20:50 – Why AI Literacy Is Critical for All Careers

23:00 – The AI Arms Race in Recruitment

25:45 – Final Thoughts: Balance, Ethics, and Opportunity

Read more on AI in Recruitment: https://rentarecruiter.com/ai-recruitment-leading-with-ethics-and-accountability/

In this episode of The Talent Fix, Barry Prost talks to Vanessa Wainwright, Founder & CEO of Abodoo, about how Skills Intelligence is transforming the way we work, learn, and hire. Discover why a Skills Passport, task-based jobs, and a common skills language are key to the future of work — and how organisations can implement a winning Skills Intelligence Strategy today.As the skills landscape changes rapidly — with 56% of businesses saying their core skills changed in the last 2 years, and 59% expecting more change by 2027 (Skillnet) — understanding what skills you will need and how to acquire them is becoming critical for both employers and employees.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome & Introduction

01:01 – The story behind the name “Abodoo”

01:41 – Why a skills-first hiring approach matters

03:13 – Creating individualised skills pathways for every employee

04:25 – The chaos of skills taxonomies & how Abodoo solves it

06:51 – The outdated CV problem & rise of Skills AI

07:45 – 55,000+ skills & keeping up with change

08:13 – Tools like Skills Lens & Core Skills First System

09:10 – The Skills Passport: What it is and how it works

09:46 – Most in-demand skills of the next 5 years

11:14 – Lifelong learning & empowering employees

12:52 – Calculating the true cost of your skills gap

14:19 – Mapping skills and personalising learning pathways

15:51 – Skills marketplaces & internal mobility

16:56 – Why jobs are evolving into tasks

17:57 – Task-based hiring: What’s next

18:39 – The importance of educating business leaders

20:11 – Future role of Chief Skills Officer

22:43 – Visualising your real-time skills assets

23:31 – Measuring skills levels & transferable skills

24:57 – Building fulfilling, flexible careers

26:13 – How to sign up for Abodoo’s Skills First Workshop

Sign up for the Skills First Masterclass: https://abodoo.com

💡 Subscribe for more conversations on the future of hiring, learning, and talent strategy.

In this episode of The Talent Fix, Barry Prost speaks with Dr. John McMackin, Associate Professor at DCU Business School, to explore why traditional CVs are becoming obsolete — and how a skills-first approach can futureproof your hiring strategy.From skills taxonomies to internal mobility barriers, we unpack the research and offer practical advice for HR and TA leaders navigating this evolving landscape.

00:00 - Introduction & Guest Welcome

00:54 - Skills vs Experience in Hiring

02:20 - Why Skills Predict Performance Better Than Qualifications04:55 - Challenges of Adopting a Skills-First Approach

06:45 - Importance of Shared Skills Language (Taxonomy)

09:00 - Resistance to Skills Transparency & Internal Mobility

12:00 - Starting with Pilot Projects in Skills-Based Hiring13:30 - How to Assess Skills Beyond the CV

15:40 - The Role of Self-Assessment & Performance Management

17:00 - Rethinking Job Descriptions & Qualifications

19:45 - Addressing Bias in Hiring Decisions

21:00 - Skills Passports: Empowering Employee Development

22:50 - Where to Access the Full Research

23:30 - Closing Remarks & Outro

About Rent a Recruiter

Rent a Recruiter is a B2B embedded recruitment agency helping high-growth and enterprise companies scale their talent acquisition with flexible, cost-effective hiring solutions. Our embedded recruiters work as an extension of your internal team, helping you find top talent faster, smarter, and with less risk.We specialise in scalable recruitment across sectors and empower businesses with a skills-first mindset to match the right people to the right roles.

Want to learn more or book a consultation?Visit https://rentarecruiter.com/ or connect with us on LinkedIn.

Mastering Workforce Upskilling with special guests, Breeda O’Toole from IDA Ireland and Carmel Keane of Fort Wayne Metals.

Join us as we dive into the critical topic of workforce upskilling alongside two esteemed guests: Breeda O’Toole from IDA Ireland and Carmel Keane of Fort Wayne Metals.

This podcast explores strategies, trends, and practical examples for embedding continuous learning into organisational cultures.

Key Themes from the Podcast:

1. Trends Shaping Workforce Upskilling

2. Overcoming Challenges to Embrace Continuous Learning

3. Practical Case Study: Fort Wayne Metals

4. Strategies for Building a Future-Ready Workforce

In this episode we talk to Charlotte Melkert, co-founder of Equalture, which is revolutionising the recruitment landscape. With an eye for fairness and a passion for disrupting the status quo, she's challenging the traditional reliance on CVs and transforming how we think about talent acquisition.Charlotte shares her views on which competencies (flexibility and learning ability) & traits (conscientiousness & proactivity) are the greatest predictors of a candidates success in the role. Charlotte gives some brilliant practical tips for how HR Managers can easily start to shift towards a competency based approach for hiring. For example 1) compare / contrast traits & competencies of your high performing teams vs your low performing teams; 2) Ask your Hiring Manager, what are the traits/competencies of the high performing individuals in your team? 3) Ask your Hiring Managers the 'Golden Question': if this person left the company tomorrow - what skills / competencies would you lose? Finally, Charlotte shares her view of the future of Talent Acquisition becoming a key strategic pillar of every organisation.

In this episode of the Talent Fix we talk to Caroline Reidy, the owner and managing director of the HR Suite and an HR & Employment Law Expert. Caroline is also an author and TEDx presenter.

Caroline shares her views on Employee Engagement; Flexible Working; Interview Best Practice and the main challenges businesses are facing today!Listen to Carolines recommendations on how to give objective interview feedback and link it to competencies. In addition Caroline gives her recommendations on what to do when you have an urgent requirement from an employee.

In this episode of the Talent Fix: Shayne Murphy gives his views on the top 5 traits the highest performers typically possess - how many of these do your team members have?!Shayne Murphy, is a performance coach with Manchester City Football Club and the Scottish National Football Team discussing building high performing teams.

Shayne shares his thoughts on what lessons businesses can learn from sports when it comes to culture, skills, motivation and leadership.

Joan McNaboe, Research Manager at SOLAS joins us to discuss the latest findings from the National Skills Bulletin 2023, trends in recruitment, including Skills First Hiring, as we move into 2024.

Check out our latest episode of the Talent Fix on Recruitment and Diversity Equity and Inclusion DEI best practice with Tam Hanlon and Sheryl Lynch. Sheryl is one of the core experts at Colectivo, a business consultancy, who has worked at EU level on projects that foster Diversity equity and inclusion. Tam is a HR leader who previously lead DE&I for EMEA for Indeed. In this episode Tamand Sheryl share interesting research and practical tips for employers on how to build a more inclusive recruitment practice. Areas covered in this podcast include ‘ableism’; tips for SME’s; amazing talent available in neurodiverse workers; Skills based hiring; How AI can help remove unconscious bias; organisations to reach out to support diversity; Employer branding and reviewson Glassdoor!

Check out our podcast with John Riordan Chairman of Grow Remote, a platform to make remote work accessible for everyone. In this episode John shares his insights on working from home, how the top CEOs have been doing this for a long time and how we need to change our view of work as an “output” rather than a “place”.