The study builds on results from a joint OECD-WTO survey which provides information on the views of firms as well as aid-for-trade partners and donors regarding the barriers that developing country firms face to connect to value chains and the effectiveness of aid-for-trade flows. These results are combined with evidence from other firm level surveys to provide an overview of the role of skills for export competitiveness of small and medium enterprises. The study concludes that that technical assistance in the field of education and training can play a powerful role in helping suppliers in developing countries to increase competitiveness and to connect to value chains. The survey evidence suggests that where labour skills development efforts are delivered as an element of aid-for-trade support, private and public sector actors consider them to be effective in helping local suppliers to connect to or to move up within value chains. Further efforts towards coordinating assistance directed towards skills upgrading with assistance directed towards entering or moving up value chains should therefore be encouraged.