This study focused on the role of social networks in the transition from social assistance to employment. The study consisted of a field experiment that was built into the training program that agencies normally deliver to persons on social assistance as part of the Ontario Works work-for-welfare program. Participants were randomly assigned to a control or experimental group and the sample consisted of 92 in the control group and 40 in the experimental group. For the experimental group, a supplementary treatment, a job search management system was added to the program that social assistance recipients normally receive. A Social Network Job Search Scale was created and served as the dependent variable in a pre-test/post-test design.Four hypotheses were tested and the data supported three of these. The study provides some evidence that the employment-training intervention was effective in strengthening social networks. The findings also indicate that those participants who found employment generally had stronger networks than those who did not. In addition, the experimental group experienced higher social network strength scores in the post-test than the control group, suggesting that the job search management system may have led to this increase. The hypothesis that was not supported was the relationship between the amount of time on social assistance and the strength of social networks.More than half of the sample had participated in at least one other training program previously and 20 percent of the sample had participated in two or more previous programs. This pattern was interpreted as meaning that the training system for social assistance recipients was not dealing effectively with the barriers that they experience in order to become employed. The existing policies that link program funding to the success rate in re-entry to the job market is critiqued because it encourages agencies to overlook the special needs of participants who may not be job ready.Understanding the value of social networks is important not only for re-entering the labour market but also for obtaining employment that is above minimum wage. Becoming involved in the flow of job-related information is only possible through making helpful connections.