This article draws attention to the skills gap in Latin America and the challenges of the region in this regard. Skills gaps are one of the leading social and economic issues of our time. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), more than in any other emerging region, companies are not seeing their skills needs being met. According to the World Bank Enterprise Surveys, 36% of firms say they struggle to find an adequately qualified work force, a percentage higher than in any other region in the world, compared to a global average of 21% and an OECD average of 15%. Addressing the human capital and skills gaps has very high development returns because human capital and skills are a vector connecting five of the key interrelated challenges facing the region: sluggish productivity growth, low innovation rates, inequality, informality and social exclusion.