Branson-area nonprofit plans trio of workforce programs

Teresa Wappel: ITI’s preemployment program will focus on soft skills development.

A Branson-area nonprofit that launched in late 2023 has a trio of programs on tap in the coming months that it hopes will bolster employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Imagine Technical Institute plans a Nov. 13 open house at its Hollister office, 101 State Drive, Ste. 240, to introduce the programs, which include preemployment training and skill teaching in hospitality and custodial work. ITI is a vocational training and employment services provider for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in southwest Missouri.

Retired insurance executive Tim Connell founded the nonprofit, as he and other silent partners invested around $3.5 million in startup costs for ITI. That included roughly $1 million for the purchase of a two-story, 12,000-square-foot office building from Steve and Katrina Creedon, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. ITI officials say its primary focus is Christian, Greene, Stone and Taney counties.

Teresa Wappel leads the four-employee staff at ITI as its executive director, coming on board in August. With more than 30 years of disability services experience, Wappel has a bachelor’s in sociology from Columbia College and most recently worked for over three years as southwest hub director for the Judevine Center for Autism. In her new role, Wappel oversees ITI’s job training and employment services.

The nonprofit’s services include job placement assistance and on-the-job coaching. Additionally, a vocational area summer work program offers a six-week paid work experience that provides students with a firsthand look at life on the job while they gain work skills and soft skills from an on-site job coach.

Skill building
The first of the nonprofit’s new efforts, a preemployment program, is set to begin Dec. 1. “We focus on the soft skills, learning to read social cues, being on time to work, being able to stay focused at work, completing a task while we’re there,” Wappel said. “Sometimes, that’s a struggle for people.”

The 12-week program is community based, so rather than having individuals learn in a classroom or ITI’s office, Wappel said the nonprofit will have the participants volunteer 20 hours a week as a form of on-the-job training as they prepare to enter the paid workforce.

The preemployment program will rotate each week among Least of These Inc., an Ozark-based nonprofit that operates a food pantry, Bag A Bargain Thrift Store in Branson West and Caring Community Thrift Store in Branson.

“That way you’re learning not only in one environment, but multiple environments, because when you get a job, the environment is probably going to be different than it was if you worked somewhere before,” Wappel said, adding the program is funded through Medicaid waivers from the Missouri Department of Mental Health and is free to participants.

ITI officials say its services are designed to enhance or grow job opportunities for those with disabilities, while helping provide connections to employers in the region. That included a collaboration over the summer with CoxHealth. ITI led a six-week vocational training course, in which two participants received hands-on training experience in the kitchen at Cox Medical Center Branson. One of the students was hired by CoxHealth to work in the kitchen, while the other found employment at a Taneyville restaurant, according to officials.

The need to bolster the workforce among those with disabilities is apparent, ITI officials say.

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for persons with a disability of working age, generally considered ages 16-64, was 8.1% in 2024 and the labor participation rate was 40.7%. For those without a disability in that same age range, the jobless rate was 3.9%, while the labor force participation rate was 77.9%.

Vocational aid
Wappel said the other two programs are still in development but will be targeted to debut in spring 2026. The vocational training programs are in collaboration with the Branson Convention Center and Hollister R-V School District. Both are six-week programs what will involve 120 hours of training. A third of the training will involve soft skills, while the remainder will provide hands-on instruction.

ITI will likely keep the cohorts small, Wappel said.

“In my experience, I’ve learned that if you have four people that you’re trying to teach a task to, sometimes that can be a bit overwhelming,” she said. “We try to keep it to three to four people.”

The Branson Convention Center will provide training in banquet operations, including event and food preparation, hospitality sanitation and operations, such as setting up and tearing down at events.

“We train them at the convention center so that they learn those skill sets,” she said. “They can either apply for a job at the convention center when it opens up, or it gives them the opportunity to say, ‘I learned these skills, I have this skill set now and I can apply it wherever.’”

For the Hollister school district program, students will train in custodial work, gaining practical knowledge and real-world experience to be part of a facilities team. Wappel said more details on that program will be coming soon as ITI is working through a memorandum of understanding with the school district.

“There’s just so much potential,” Wappel said of individuals with disabilities who have a desire and ability to work, adding they make up an underutilized workforce. “In my experience at Tantone, this population, they are dedicated. They’re loyal, they come to work, and they want to work.”