This edition of the EMnet Latin America Policy Note (2015) provides insights on the role the private sector can play to foster productivity through investment in skills and innovation. Improving productivity in Latin America will require aligning skills with market demand, leveraging foreign direct investment (FDI) to support innovation and expanding infrastructure investments. The note provides an overview of education and skills policies in Latin America, offers business insights on productivity-related challenges and assesses policy makers’ efforts to support productivity improvements.