'essential step towards' is correct and usable in written English and can be used when you want to emphasize the importance of a step in a process.
For example, "Developing good communication skills is an essential step towards achieving success in your career."
Valuing stories by and about women is an essential step towards a more equitable society.
(This is an essential step towards curbing health-care costs more generally).
November 11, 2013 Foreign Office (FCO) (@foreignoffice).@WilliamJHague: Govt firmly in favour of reaching an interim agreement with Iran, as an essential step towards a comprehensive settlement.
The new writing from east and west suggests that making Europe whole again will be an essential step towards understanding and reconciliation.
The deal has been hailed by the US, the Europeans and neighbouring countries as a breakthrough, an essential step towards stability.
"Becoming financially responsible is an essential step towards adulthood," says the bank, so start teaching your children how to manage their finances from an early age.
A united Palestinian front is an essential step towards finding a just and durable solution to this conflict; and yet, perhaps, it is this unity that worries the occupier.
For a long time the city was a sovereign principality, founded by merchants and ruled in relative democracy, and the unification of Novgorod with Moscow in the 15th century was an essential step towards a unified Russia.
But reformers fear that the search for a level playing field means no change at all.Mr Cameron's advisers see a strong statement in Northern Ireland as an essential step towards further progress.
"The State Council expects this experiment as an essential step towards upgrading China's economy," Qu Hongbin, an economist at HSBC in Hong Kong, said in a report on Thursday.
They may also be able to play some role in integrating irregular units into the army an essential step towards more coordinated command and control.How much of a difference might all this make on the ground?
