At a time when finding a job can feel out of reach for many, the government’s recent growth and skills levy announcements are a clear attempt to tackle one of the most pressing challenges facing the economy. Measures such as the youth jobs grant, an expanded youth guarantee and a renewed focus on apprenticeships are important steps that will help more young people take that first step into work. But there is a risk that in focusing on access, we lose sight of what comes next. Getting young people onto the jobs ladder is only the first step. Ensuring they stay, develop and progress is what ultimately determines whether these policies succeed. Without that, we risk creating a system that opens doors to employment, only to leave people without a clear path forward once they’re inside. Creating the conditions for rewarding long-term employment matters more than ever with unemployment at 5.2 per cent, and the share of 18 to 24-year-olds not in work or full-time education rising to 19.2 per cent. As the UK’s largest private sector employer, retail has long served as a vital route into employment for hundreds of thousands of young people. For many, it is their first experience of work – a chance to build confidence, develop skills and take that first step on the career ladder. But that ladder needs rungs. To keep people in work and motivated, there must be clear opportunities to progress – something government must support, not undermine. Government’s decision to defund leadership and management apprenticeships risks removing some of the most critical rungs. Pathways such as the Level 3 Team Leader standard have long provided a clear and structured route from entry-level roles into positions of responsibility. Removing them altogether leaves a significant gap between starting a job and building a career. This is particularly concerning given the wider context of the growth and skills levy. Many retailers already struggle to spend their funds in full due to restrictive rules. Recognising this, government has rightly committed to improving flexibility so that more of these employer-paid contributions can be used effectively. Yet the removal of funding for leadership and management apprenticeships eliminates a well-used and valuable way to spend levy funds. The result is a system that becomes less usable, limiting progression at a crucial point. At the heart of this is a simple truth: strong management is essential to good work. This matters most for young people entering the workforce for the first time, or returning after a period out of work, who depend on capable managers to provide the guidance, structure and support needed to succeed. Research from the Chartered Management Institute shows 82 per cent of managers have had no formal training, often stepping into roles by circumstance rather than preparation. In a system increasingly reliant on employers to support inexperienced workers, that gap becomes even more significant. Progression pathways are fundamental to attracting and retaining talent. For many young people, particularly those entering through foundation apprenticeships or entry-level roles, the promise of progression is what makes a job worthwhile. Remove those pathways, and you remove a key part of the offer. This is particularly acute for foundation apprenticeships, where employer incentives are tied to progression. Without clear next steps, the model itself begins to break down. The suggestion that leadership and management training should be funded solely by employers overlooks a key point: Levy funding is employer-paid. Restricting how it can be used does not increase investment in skills – it simply reduces the value and efficacy of the system. There is a more constructive way forward. Government should reconsider the decision to defund leadership and management apprenticeships, recognising the role they play in supporting both new entrants and the wider workforce. At the very least, more flexible, modular approaches should be explored, allowing employers to access leadership training in a way that better reflects operational realities while reducing the burden of off-the-job training. This must also be seen alongside wider reforms such as the Employment Rights Act, where overly rigid rules risk reducing the very entry-level opportunities these youth employment schemes are designed to create. Success should not be measured by how many people start a job, but by how many go on to build sustainable, rewarding careers. Because you cannot build a workforce for the future without investing in the managers who support it.