Staff brand BBC Facebook lessons 'an astonishing waste of money'

The BBC has come under fire for spending thousands teaching its staff how to use Facebook.

The day-long classes for the 23,000 workforce on full pay could equate to more than a £100 a time. They also cover how to set up accounts on networking sites such as Twitter and Bebo.

However, some BBC employees have used Facebook and Twitter to criticise the training initiative. One sound engineer wrote: "It's an astonishing waste of money."

BBC bosses have defended the Making the Web Work for You course, saying it helped staff, particularly journalists, "develop effective and comprehensive internet research and social media skills".