Ep 50 Skills-First Hiring in 2026: How AI, Emerging Skills, and RPO Are Redefining Talent Acquisition with Chip Holmes

In 2026, demand for emerging skills is accelerating even as overall hiring slows—yet only 21% of companies have fully adopted skills-based hiring, according to LinkedIn’s 2024 Future of Recruiting report. Talent acquisition and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) teams face a widening execution gap as AI and automation create new roles faster than traditional, credential-based hiring can keep up. Only a small share of employers are redesigning sourcing, screening, and workforce planning to capture this opportunity, while most risk deeper talent shortages, stalled innovation, and long-term competitiveness challenges.Bridging this gap requires rethinking how organizations define, find, and develop talent. In this episode of the Time to Hire podcast, host Lamees Abourahma speaks with RPO leader Chip Holmes of Randall Reilly to examine how RPO providers and talent leaders can use skills-first hiring, talent communities, cross-industry recruiting, and targeted outreach to underrepresented groups to close critical capability gaps and build resilient, future-ready workforces.Follow Chip Holmes on LinkedIn Go here for more information about Randall Reilly About the PodcastTime to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.