Automation and Skills Research for the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship

Serving as a Project Advisor with the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship, in 2018, Jon Medow directed key informant interviews with 30 Ontario human resources leaders in the finance and manufacturing sectors about the effects of automation on emerging skills-needs. Jon directed a content analysis on the data collected from the interviews, synthesizing findings for the final report, Better, Faster Stronger: Maximizing the benefits of automation for Ontario’s firms and people.

The report (lead authors: Creig Lamb, Viet Vu, and Daniel Munro) explores the risks and rewards automation poses for industries and workers in Ontario by examining trends in the economy as a whole, gathering local insights from across the province, and conducting an in-depth analysis of two key sectors in Ontario that are broadly representative of these trends — manufacturing and finance and insurance.

“The Brookfield Institute worked with Jon to run a series of in-depth interviews with leaders from Ontario’s finance and manufacturing sectors, as part of a larger project investigating the factors influencing firms’ decisions to automate in these sectors, and implications for both firms and workers. Jon fit easily into the project team, responding quickly to shifts in scope, leading interviews with senior industry representatives with professionalism, and synthesizing insights clearly and astutely. I would gladly work with Jon and his team again.” - Sarah Doyle, Policy Director, Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship