In his 18 years of experience in the field of higher education, Mr. Additionally, he works with the existing Fellows to support their continued investment in the Rhode Island community through various engagement opportunities. In this role, Barry is responsible for facilitating the annual application & award process, promoting the program to potential Fellows and employers, and measuring the success of the program against its goals. 13, Rhode Island Hospital 13, SEA Corp.Barry O’Connor serves as the Wavemaker Fellowship Director for the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation. Amica had the second most at 34, Hasbro 20, Amgen 14, Lifespan 13, Disanto, Priest & Co. Which companies have had the most workers take advantage of the Wavemaker tax credits?īetween 20, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center employed 69 people who got Wavemaker tax credits, easily the most of any employer. Associate-degree holders are eligible for $1,000 a year and graduate-degree holders get $6,000 a year. Wavemaker provides $4,000 in refundable tax credits per year, for up to four years, to graduates with a bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering or math, as long as they work full time in Rhode Island over that period. “These individuals are valued workers in high-demand positions at more than 300 companies across the state – many of whom have turned down offers to work elsewhere thanks in part to this program.” “Employers and employees alike have praised this program and we’re pleased that it is contributing to our state’s economic strength,” he added. Spokesman Brian Hodge in an email said it “is undeniable that the Wavemaker fellowship has helped retain and attract nearly 900 professionals by relieving them of burdensome student debt.” “It provides an incentive to employees by defraying student loan costs, creating the pool of talent companies need to grow and remain strong.” “Wavemaker was built in response to Rhode Island companies seeking tools to attract and retain a highly educated and highly skilled workforce,” Commerce wrote. The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, which administers the Wavemaker program, said in a written response that a straight cost-revenue analysis wasn’t the best way to look at the program. The Revenue Analysis report also raised concerns about Wavemaker’s administrative costs, $134,000, or 13% of total expenditures in 2018.Īnd it flagged potential fairness issues - with no income limit, high earners have tended to benefit the most from the program. The report estimated that the program would break even in revenue if at least 60.5% of the recipients were working in Rhode Island only because of the tax credits. Eight percent of the credit recipients worked in Rhode Island but lived out of state in 2017 and 11% in 2018. Over that period 395 people were awarded $1.5 million in credits. The analysis looked at Wavemaker tax credits awarded in 20. The report is a numerical analysis recipients of the credits were not interviewed. “However, it is also possible that an individual had already decided to work in Rhode Island and therefore, this tax incentive may have simply rewarded or subsidized behavior that likely would have occurred anyway.” “It is not unreasonable to think that this tax incentive is large enough to impact such a decision, given the maximum credit/refund allowed over a 4-year period. “In the case of the Wavemaker Fellowship program, it is difficult to determine how much the program affects an individual’s decision to work in Rhode Island,” the report said. In a 61-page review of the program, the Office of Revenue Analysis concluded that Wavemaker had accomplished its goal of getting money to recent graduates with new jobs and loan debt, but couldn’t say whether it has stimulated hiring or convinced people to stay in Rhode Island who otherwise wouldn’t have. The cost this year would be $2.1 million. Raimondo has proposed extending the fellowship for three more years, and letting math and science teachers take advantage of it, too. Gina Raimondo’s Wavemaker Fellowship college-debt tax-credit program will stop at the end of this year unless lawmakers extend it in the state budget. Rhode Island has helped more than 900 college graduates in high-demand fields pay off their student loans over the past five years, but a new analysis says it’s hard to tell how much the state has benefited from the program.
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