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| Date: | February 15, 2012 | | Contact Name: | Sandra Whalen | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-5238 | | Contact Email: | sandra.whalen@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| SENATOR MILLER'S BILL CONNECTS MINNESOTA STUDENTS & BUSINESSES |
(ST. PAUL) -- Sen. Jeremy Miller of Winona hopes to create a permanent connection between Minnesota students and Greater Minnesota employers, bringing them together with something that each value: academic internships and business tax credits.
“This program is good for students and good for business,” Miller said. “By giving companies incentives to hire interns from Minnesota schools, more students are given opportunities to connect with employers across the state and bring their expertise into smaller communities. This can help businesses grow, and with them, local communities.”
Miller, who is vice-chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, added, “Connecting skilled job seekers with our local businesses increases the likelihood our students will accept permanent positions in greater Minnesota and stay to live and raise a family here.”
Mayor Al Oberloh, Mayor of Worthington and the President of the CGMC added: “Keeping students in greater Minnesota after they graduate from our universities and colleges is a critical factor in building greater Minnesota’s economy for the future. Today, there are more people with two- and four-year degrees in the metro area as compared to greater Minnesota.”
“We need to correct that imbalance,” Oberloh said, “Sen. Miller’s bill will go a long way toward reaching that goal by providing a bridge between greater Minnesota employers and their future employees.”
Called the “Greater Minnesota Internship Tax Credit” the program would provide a refundable tax credit to a greater Minnesota business that hires an intern from any state public university or vocational college. If passed, the program would be administered by the MnSCU Board of Trustees and the U of MN Board of Regents.
The legislation is part of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities’ “Greater Minnesota Economic Recovery Plan.”
The bill was introduced by Miller in the Senate this week.
