Unemployment is a major social problem in a small East Coast county, with lack of work experience and few marketable skills serving as the contributing factors. The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) training program is a federal program implemented by the states to improve the occupational skills and the employability of the workforce. Scholars have concluded that the WIA training program has not addressed the high unemployment figures reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The purpose of the research was to identify the experiences of participants in the WIA Program regarding improvement of the quality of the workforce and the opportunity for gainful employment, as well as their perceptions of the successes, challenges, and recommended improvements during the implementation of the WIA training program. The theoretical foundation of the study was Boone and van Ours' theory of active labor market policy for programs that seek to improve the employability of under- and unemployed groups. This phenomenological study included in-person interviews with 10 training participants, 5 training service providers, and 5 program management employees. Content analysis was used to code and classify the data and identify themes. The results of this study indicated significant barriers to completion of the training program that have not been identified in previous research; these include insufficient funding that prevented many from participation and a lengthy application process that delayed the approval process. The implication for social change is to inform policy makers of these shortcomings, in order that trainees may develop the job skills that will enable them to be self-supporting, thus reducing welfare dependency. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]