Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation Tuesday designed to help the state recruit and retain young talent in the workforce.
The Intern and Apprentice Recruitment Act, which easily passed in the legislature earlier this year, encourages businesses to grow the number of interns or apprentices they employ.
It offers companies a tax credit of $1,500 per paid intern or paid apprentice up to $9,000, or six such positions. Crucially, the tax credits only apply to newly created positions, said one of the bill鈥檚 sponsors, state Rep. Brad Christ, R-St. Louis County.
鈥淚f you hire on average 10 interns a year, now you have to hire 11, 12, 13, up to 16 to take advantage of the tax incentive,鈥� he said.
Political leaders expect the new law will make Missouri more competitive when it comes to attracting businesses.
鈥淣o company is going to come to your state if you鈥檙e not doing two things,鈥� Parson said. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have the workforce and you鈥檙e not doing something to prepare for tomorrow, they鈥檙e not coming. It鈥檚 that simple.鈥�
The legislation also aims to tackle a persistent problem in which graduates of the state鈥檚 higher education institutions wind up leaving the state, said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis Inc.
鈥淢issouri colleges and universities build a strong pipeline of undergraduate talent,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut our team found that we鈥檙e exporting 20,000 of those college graduates to other states. And that鈥檚 just unacceptable.鈥�
In the St. Louis region, business leaders have
鈥淲e need people to fill these high-quality jobs and careers that we're all creating together,鈥� Hall said. 鈥淩etaining and attracting talent is just critical to this metro and ensuring the success of the sectors.鈥�
But that鈥檚 not happening right now, he added. Compared to other Midwestern cities, like Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Columbia, Kansas City and St. Louis have much lower internship rates, Hall said.
This makes it challenging, especially for those, like Ziyaad Raza, who may want an internship or apprenticeship closer to where they grew up. Raza, a current junior at New York University, is an intern at Greater St. Louis Inc.
鈥淯nfortunately, a lot of my friends are still out in New York and New Jersey and California because they didn't have the opportunity to come here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 haven't been able to see them; they haven't been able to see their family simply because the opportunity just isn't here for them.鈥�
And that鈥檚 critical for companies in the region and state since many companies wind up offering their interns or apprentices full-time jobs.
Kathy Mazzarella understands this well as the chairman, president and CEO of St. Louis-based Graybar, a wholesale distributor of electrical, communications, data networking and industrial products.
鈥淥ur interns not only gained valuable experience through this program, many of them have chosen to stay with our company after their graduation,鈥� she said.
Mazzarella added the legislation reinforces Missouri鈥檚 commitment to a wide range of industries, including trades which commonly have apprenticeships. The state is one of the top in the nation when it comes to completed apprenticeships.
To Parson, it emphasizes the abundance of opportunity for workers and how the entire state is poised to benefit.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no reason in any category they can鈥檛 work right here in Missouri,鈥� he said.
