Over the past two decades, inner-city communities have witnessed double-digit joblessness among an increasing number of residents who are relegated to the status of the "permanent" unemployed or the permanent underclass. These residents cannot hope to be competitive in a changing and evolving labor market. Relying on public assistance, low-wage part-time work without benefits, and struggling through spells of unemployment, these residents scuffle to survive during economically successful years and they are the last to experience long-term employment with family sustaining wages during an economic recovery. Particularly problematic for residents of inner-city communities is finding employment opportunities that pay well, and which cannot be exported to suburban communities, other states, or other countries. Although highly sensitive to economic boom and bust cycles, construction jobs offer this opportunity. However, in many urban settings, these jobs are controlled largely by unions, wherein membership is still highly evasive for people of color. Since the 1990s several federal, state, local and community-based initiatives emerged to meet the employment readiness needs of these residents and others through comprehensive training. While adult education and training efforts are recognized as important to the future employment endeavors of these residents; the designers of the intervention programs do not seem to view theoretically-based adult education and training as a central concern. Further, the adult education literature does not contain a critical lens on the quality of these programs. This article provides an adult education theory-based critical analysis of published case evaluations of three very different pre-apprenticeship workforce training programs. The programs include the "Newark/Essex Construction Careers Consortium" (N/ECCC), the Building Bridges Project (BBP) "Night Class," and the BBP "Carpenters Class."