The purpose of this study was to determine occupational qualifications of trainees in a pre-employment program provided by the Center for Adult Education at Ohio State University and the Columbus Urban League and to investigate the relationship between these qualifications and successful completion of on-the-job training. Seventy-five Columbus, Ohio, inner-city residents (the majority Negro) were selected for study. Questionnaires, the General Aptitude Test Battery, Metropolitan Achievement Test, and Vocational Preference Inventory were used to collect data. The trainees had a record of failure, both educational and occupational. It was found that those more likely to complete on-the-job taining were: women, trainees scoring higher on spatial aptitude, those with less work experience, and those with vocational interests related to the actual training positions. Differences in age, general educational development, and eight of the nine aptitudes measured failed to differentiate between trainees. It was concluded that this pattern of unemployment interspersed with temporary jobs at a low level will remain unless a community provides opportunities for persons to become integrated into all occupational categories of higher level occupations. (EB)