Eagles turns 20

This year, Eagles marks its 20th anniversary. Eagles is ELBA’s graduate development programme, facilitating social mobility by finding talented, hardworking and motivated local graduates that go on to shine in a corporate environment. To date, 461 Eagles have successfully completed the programme and a further 26 are currently on placement.

This bespoke graduate development scheme was created in 2005 with the intention of enabling those from lower socio-economic backgrounds to better access corporate careers. We know that the wealth of untapped talent and high potential at our doorstep is undervalued and underrepresented, and we recognise that socio-diversity is a critical enabler of business success.

Find out more about this unique programme.

On 23rd October, we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Eagles at the House Of Commons. The event will bring together the companies – past and present – that have been involved in the programme, along with the Eagles themselves and supporters of this unique social mobility graduate programme. The evening will celebrate achievements whilst recognising the challenges ahead.

At the event, we will launch The Eagles Effect: Two Decades of Social Mobility, a 20-year impact evaluation of the programme. Written by ELBA’s Dr Carmen Nicoara and comprising 255 Eagle alumni responses, The Eagles Effect: Two Decades of Social Mobility offers a landmark retrospective of the programme. Combining long-term career data, earnings analysis and lived experiences, the report evaluates the programme’s role in advancing social mobility over two decades. It aims to quantify the economic and occupational uplift experienced by alumni, while also capturing the intangible impacts on confidence, cultural capital and social belonging.

To find out more about Eagles, please contact Sophie Critchlow, [email protected].

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