location won't help anyone move up

does anyone else feel like their store dangles career development in their face without actually helping them move into a new position? I'm told I'm ready one minute and the next minute it's "you need more polishing in your current position". No matter what I do it's the same thing. And it's not just happening to me, but to others at my location as well. I know we're not allowed to apply for positions without permission from exempt, which is why i'm sort of at a loss at what to do since this has been a pattern for years at this location.