Global Radio: Home of the work experience trainee

Global Radio has been struggling to balance its books, and carry out the cussedly difficult job of broadcasting radio programmes shortly after letting 200 of its staff go.

That's "letting them go" in the same way that the rugby team let their colleagues go when they crashed in the Andes.

So how do you keep the stations on air?

Ashley Tabor has a plan:

"I have been trying to find a way to harness the passion for radio amongst young people," he told the world, well the UK, earlier this week.

The plan is to recruit 500 work-experience lackeys per year. "The Global Academy will ultimately create a supply of real talent to the commercial radio industry," Tabor proclaimed.

Now, there's something noble about the idea of training young, enthusiastic people in the skills of the radio industry. Assuming they get proper training, and get paid for it while they're receiving it, and that the 500 really talented, well-trained people will have 500 well-paid, valuable jobs waiting for them. That would be brilliant, and represent a massive, brave investment from a company that has no money and a business plan that's currently more wobbly than a three-legged kitten on an ice rink.

Of course, if all they're doing is exploiting people's goodwill and turning their dreams into cheap, button-pushing labour, encouraging hopefuls to spend years in low-paid positions on the promise of a job that doesn't exist, then you really do have to hope that Global collapses in on itself in a fetid cloud of ill-intentioned exploitation.

But I'm sure Tabor can explain exactly where the UK commercial radio industry will be requiring 500 highly-paid, highly trade staffers in a couple of years, right?

[Thanks to James P]