181: Beyond Role Play: Using AI to Build Real Skills – Ryan Byrne and Dr Nathan Moore
Release Date: 03/09/2026
Elevate 49: Gari Yala - Speak the Truth | Indigenous Employment and the L&D Responsibility
Learning Uncut
It will take 118 years, at the current rate of change, before an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person can go to work without hearing a racial slur. This is not history. This is what is happening in Australian workplaces right now. In this Elevate episode, Michelle Parry-Slater speaks with Professor Nareen Young and Josh Gilbert from the Centre for Indigenous People and Work at the University of Technology Sydney, both Aboriginal researchers and practitioners who have spent decades working to shift the Indigenous employment narrative from deficit to truth. Together they share the...
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187: Recognition as a Learning Tool Sarah McVanel & Lisa Anstey
Learning Uncut
Recognition is often written off as a "nice to have." In this episode, Michelle Parry-Slater speaks with Sarah McVanel, Canada's recognition expert and founder of Greatness Magnified, and Lisa Anstey, manager of Medical Device Reprocessing at Waterloo Regional Health Network, to make the case that recognition is not soft. Recognition is one of the most powerful learning and behaviour-change tools available. Together they share the story of a deeply disengaged hospital team that became one of the most recognised in the country. The framework, the coaching, the daily huddles, and the sheer...
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Elevate 48: Eight Years of Learning Uncut – Michelle Ockers
Learning Uncut
Eight years. Nearly 200 episodes. One consistent heartbeat. In this special Elevate episode, Michelle Parry-Slater sits down with Learning Uncut founder Michelle Ockers to reflect on eight lessons from eight years of the podcast. From community as the engine that started it all, to the quiet discipline of showing up and being of service without knowing where it leads... Transcript and related resources: Podcast information and more episodes:
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186: Building L&D from Scratch – Elyse Toomey
Learning Uncut
The brief was simple: we need an L&D function. Go and start one. In this episode, Michelle Parry-Slater speaks with Elyse Toomey, Head of Learning and Development at Ironbark Financial Group, about what it really takes to build an L&D department from nothing in a fast-moving financial services business, from coaching coaches to become trainers and launching peer-to-peer onboarding at scale, to doubling LMS engagement, growing a team of six, and learning to lead with a strategy that bends with the business. A story for anyone who has ever been handed a blank page and told to get on with...
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185: Learning as Investment, Not Cost – Tina Schust Robinson & LaTanya Foster
Learning Uncut
Most leadership programs start with the how; the workshop, the elearning, the coach. The business case often comes later, if at all. In this episode, Michelle Parry-Slater speaks with Tina Robinson, founder of WorkJoy and author of Developing Your Business Leaders, and her client, LaTanya Foster, VP of People at global travel accessories brand BÉIS, about what happens when you start with the why instead. Together they share the story of Altitude, a director-level leadership development program built for a fast-moving, disruption-hit business and make a compelling case for why treating...
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184: From Darkroom to AI: Reflective Practice Across an L&D Career – Greg Wilton
Learning Uncut
We rarely stop to look back. One achievement blurs into the next, and before long we've accumulated years of practice without ever taking stock of what we've actually learned. In this episode, Michelle Parry-Slater invites Greg Wilton - a St. Louis-based L&D practitioner with a career spanning darkroom photography, web publishing, global e-learning, and generative AI - to do exactly that. Together they trace the experiences, pivots, and hard-won insights that shaped his thinking: from a process safety briefing that reframed the entire purpose of intake, to a human-centred questioning...
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Elevate 47: The Craft of Conference Chairing – Niall Gavin, Helen Palmer & Anit Mahay
Learning Uncut
Most conference chairs open with applause and slip off stage. At Learning Technologies, chairing starts two months before anyone sets foot in the room. In this Elevate episode, Michelle Parry-Slater speaks with three Learning Technologies 2026 chairs: Niall Gavin, Helen Palmer, and Anit Mahay. Join our range of Chairs, both new and experienced, as we discuss what it really takes to prepare speakers for the stage. From reviewing slide decks and managing nerves to handling off-topic questions and being the voice of the audience, this is a masterclass in why the chair role matters far more...
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183: Hearing Loss Awareness Designing for Empathy at Scale (HSBC) - Georgie Cooke, Louise Bassiri and Michelle Parry-Slater
Learning Uncut
Hearing loss is more common than most workplaces acknowledge. Around one in six Australians, one in eight Americans, and one in five UK adults lives with some form of hearing loss, tinnitus or D/deafness. Yet at HSBC UK, only a handful of colleagues had formally disclosed a hearing loss before this project launched. In this episode, Michelle Parry-Slater speaks with Georgie Cooke from Lima Delta and Louise Bassiri from HSBC UK about their award-shortlisted hearing loss awareness programme, created with the RNID and learning partner Jam Pan. Rather than telling colleagues about hearing loss,...
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182: The Power of Evolution in Learning Transformation (Girlguiding UK) – Arnika Knight and Michelle Parry-Slater
Learning Uncut
Arnika Knight and Michelle Parry-Slater share the decade-long journey of modernising L&D for 80,000 volunteers at Girlguiding UK. From navigating change resistance to building a multi-modal learning ecosystem, their story is packed with practical lessons for any L&D professional working at scale. The conversation explores respecting volunteers’ time, supporting motivation and using a clear learning strategy to modernise learning while maintaining strong human connections. Host: Transcript and related resources: Podcast information and more episodes:
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181: Beyond Role Play: Using AI to Build Real Skills – Ryan Byrne and Dr Nathan Moore
Learning Uncut
Sydney Trains frontline staff face customer aggression daily. They knew the de-escalation models. Applying them under real pressure was another matter entirely. And they'd made one thing clear: no more role play. In this episode, The Two Michelles speak with Ryan Byrne from Sydney Trains and Dr Nathan Moore from Frameless Interactive about Project CIVIL: Customer Initiated Violence Interactive Learning. Winner of the AITD Excellence Award for Best Use of Learning Technology 2025, Project CIVIL uses AI-driven simulation to build genuine capability under pressure, without a script, without an...
info_outlineSydney Trains frontline staff face customer aggression daily. They knew the de-escalation models. Applying them under real pressure was another matter entirely. And they'd made one thing clear: no more role play.
In this episode, The Two Michelles speak with Ryan Byrne from Sydney Trains and Dr Nathan Moore from Frameless Interactive about Project CIVIL: Customer Initiated Violence Interactive Learning. Winner of the AITD Excellence Award for Best Use of Learning Technology 2025, Project CIVIL uses AI-driven simulation to build genuine capability under pressure, without a script, without an actor, without the awkwardness of traditional role play. A masterclass in choosing the right tool for the right problem.
Host: Michelle Ockers & Michelle Parry-Slater
Transcript and related resources: https://learninguncut.global/podcast/181/
Podcast information and more episodes: https://learninguncut.global/podcast/