Asda is calling on the government to reverse proposals to defund leadership apprenticeships or risk making it more difficult for retail workers to progress from the shop floor.
The supermarket made the plea alongside the release of its Apprenticeship Impact Report to mark National Apprenticeship Week.
Over the past year, Asda had invested £2.7m in apprenticeship training, with over 200 colleagues benefiting from programmes alongside their day jobs. Furthermore, more than half of all Asda colleagues to complete an apprenticeship since 2024 had gone on to achieve a promotion.
However, the supermarket argued that it will now be more difficult for apprentices to climb the ladder following Labour’s reforms to the apprenticeship system in the autumn. From 1 January 2026, funding for Leadership Apprenticeships – so-called level 7 apprenticeships that are equivalent to a master’s degree – was restricted to people aged 16 to 21, and for care leavers aged under 25.
The Department for Work & Pensions claimed the reforms are aimed at supporting more younger people into work. However, Asda says they make it harder for apprentices to move from the shop floor into management positions, ultimately “meaning young people could struggle to build long‑term careers in retail”.
Asda has also repeated calls for further reform to how apprenticeships are funded, with businesses still unable to access millions of “expired” levy funds.
Currently, under the Apprenticeship Levy rules, businesses with payrolls of above £3m have to set aside 0.5% of the bill for apprenticeship training. These funds expire after 24 months, with businesses unable to access any unspent funds.
Asda claimed it was unable to use £11.7m in expired levy funds last year.
“Apprenticeships are central to helping colleagues build the skills they need to thrive and to developing the next generation of retail leaders,” said Asda chief people officer James Goodman, who joined Asda from Tesco last year.
“We’re proud to offer high-quality programmes that grow talent within Asda and support local SMEs to upskill their teams,” Goodman added.
He continued: “The current funding system is holding employers back, with millions in levy funding going unused because of restrictive rules. Reports that the government plan to defund leadership apprenticeships would clearly be a further backward step, that would cut off proven progression routes and weaken the sector’s ability to develop future leaders.”
Since the levy was introduced, Asda had invested £19m in total into supporting 2,700 employees into apprenticeships. it said. Additionally, over the past year it had used £1.15m in levy transfers to help 165 apprentices across 80 SMEs across the UK.
The Grocer has contacted DWP for further comment.
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