Is AI forcing a total rethink of what we hire for — and how we measure it? If skills now “expire” in a couple of years, what signal should TA teams use at the top of the funnel to predict who will succeed when the job inevitably changes?

Meet Fiadhna McEvoy C.Psychol, MCIPD, Psychometric Innovation Director at Arctic Shores — a business psychologist with nearly 20 years’ experience spanning occupational assessment, organisational development and psychometric innovation. At Arctic Shores, Fiadhna leads the design of task-based assessments built on cognitive science. And in this episode, she lifts the lid on a brand-new way to measure learning agility, the workplace capability everyone’s talking about.

Join host Robert Newry and guest Fiadhna McEvoy as they discuss:

💡 Learning agility, properly defined. Beyond buzzwords: how learning agility blends implicit learning from real-world cues, social dynamics, and comfort with uncertainty — and why it matters at every level, not just for leaders.

⏱️ Why this matters now. With AI accelerating change, many technical skills have a shelf life of roughly two and a half years; analytical thinking remains a top priority, alongside resilience and influence, as noise increases and roles evolve.

🧪 Show, don’t tell: a new task for learning agility. Traditional, text-based measures (self-report, SJTs, even some ability tests) are increasingly vulnerable to AI assistance. The new task-based approach captures primary behavioural evidence from thousands of micro-decisions — giving TA an explainable, AI-resilient signal at the front end of the process.

🔍 Validated, not a black box. From theory to prototype to iterative testing, Fiadhna’s team focused on construct validity and real-world performance — including sharing their methodology at the BPS Division of Occupational Psychology and preparing a forthcoming paper.

🚀 Early access in high-stakes hiring. What TA teams are seeing so far: a trading firm using learning agility alongside quantitative reasoning to shortlist at speed, and a global accounting firm applying it across Early Careers streams — with consistency from top-of-funnel through to assessment centre.

⚖️ Pragmatism first. Why Arctic Shores is limiting the weighting during early access (so it informs rather than over-drives decisions) and how teams can adopt the signal responsibly while the high-stakes comparison group scales.

Don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ to be sure not to miss more episodes of the TA Disruptors podcast.

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Thanks for listening, and here are some helpful links:

Connect with Robert on LinkedIn:

https://hubs.li/Q0282KjJ0

Connect with Fiadhna on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fiadhna-mcevoy-c-psychol-mcipd-a15a09a/

Sign up for the TA Disruptors newsletter - it's the easiest way to be updated with the industry’s brightest ideas and the freshest need-to-know data - every week:

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Talent acquisition is changing faster than it ever has before. ChatGPT and other GenAI tools are literally turning the selection process on its head. This podcast is designed for disruptive Talent Acquisition leaders who want to get ahead. For the innovators, the movers and shakers, and the TA leaders who will survive and thrive in this new era by moving quickly to future-proof their recruitment processes. Even when you’re feeling overworked and overwhelmed, we’ll help you keep up with the latest ideas from the industry’s brightest innovators and the freshest need-to-know data from new research. TA Disruptors has got you covered.

All brought to you from the team behind Arctic Shores.

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Why Learning Agility is a key capability for candidates in the AI era | With Fiadhna McEvoy

TA Disruptors

Why Learning Agility is a key capability for candidates in the AI era | With Fiadhna McEvoy