Jackson received his B.A.Sc. from the University of Toronto in chemical engineering. Upon graduation, he joined Shell Canada, where he was employed for more than 30 years. Jackson's experience with Shell involved several multi-year overseas assignments, as well as considerable experience in the United States with Shell Chemicals and Shell Development. Although Jackson was involved in many aspects of the petroleum and in particular the petrochemical sector, his experience was primarily that of a career design and development specialist. He is a registered professional engineer in the province of Ontario.