This paper provides a comprehensive look at the way the private sector is involved in youth skills and employment in low- and middle-income countries, considering the broad range of programme types and firm types. It presents and interpret the available evidence of the effectiveness of this involvement. It also presents an understanding of where the private sector has been most effective at promoting young people’s labour market success, and what could be done to enhance the role of the private sector to achieve this objective. In attempting to understand firms’ engagement and effectiveness, the authors draw on a basic economic framework that considers this behaviour in light of factors such as costs, perceived returns, information, and externalities.