BBC
staff are being given the opportunity to take six months paid leave and a new
job of their choice through a scheme designed to foster new ideas at the
corporation.
The
staff can work anywhere from the Royal Opera House to a computer design firm,
and will receive their full BBC salaries during the sabbatical plus cash they
earn in their temporary job.
About
150 staff have taken part in a pilot scheme trialling the project. They worked
in a variety of roles including working on a medical drama for Ugandan
television, a charity press office and teaching video skills to children in
south London.
Employees
can take work attachments in any organisation as long as it will help them
learn skills that can only be found outside the corporation.
The
BBC says the scheme is cheaper than sending staff on training courses.
While
sabbaticals could last a maximum of six months, most attachments during the
pilot scheme were between two and four weeks long.
