Brad Seward is the Mowat Centre’s Practice Lead for Education and Skills. He brings a research background that has looked extensively at matters related to education, skills, and the labour market. Formerly a postdoctoral fellow under a SSHRC funded grant led by a Canada Research Chair, his work addressed skill deficiencies among Canadians living in rural and urban population centers.

Obtaining a PhD from the University of Guelph, his doctoral dissertation sought to challenge existing typologies of fields of study, demonstrating how different conceptualizations of field categories can produce new labour market outcome narratives. His dissertation also observed the effect of bilingualism on Canadian university graduates’ school to work experiences, and the role that the growing popularity of distance education has had on the labour market transitions of postsecondary graduates.

During his time as a PhD candidate, Brad has collaborated with academics, policy members, and stakeholders in education and employment to pursue topics ranging from the labour market outcomes of graduates with disabilities, to the working experiences of public sector employees from traditionally marginalized groups. His work has been featured on CBC Radio, 570 News Radio, and he has appeared on TVO’s The Agenda with Nam Kiwanuka. For his time as a doctoral student, Brad was nominated for the Governor General’s Academic Medal.

Aside from his research interests, Brad has spent 5 years working for Statistics Canada’s Research Data Center network, and is a reviewer for the Canadian Journal of Higher Education.