Government advert encouraging ballet dancers to retrain as cybersecurity experts backfires

Government minister distances himself from latest advert in Cyber First campaign

A government-backed advert suggesting that ballet dancers should retrain for a career in cybersecurity has been slammed as "crass" by a government minister.

The #Fatima hashtag has been trending on Twitter today following the launch of an advert featuring a ballerina and bearing the slogan ‘Fatima's next job could be in cyber'.

It is the latest in a series of adverts under the government-backed Cyber First campaign, which aims to encourage people from all walks of life to consider a career in IT security.

According to the government's own figures, 48 per cent of UK businesses have a basic cyber security skills gap.

However, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, was quick to distance himself over the latest version of the advert, which was launched at a time of rising levels of anxiety over the future of the arts in the UK.

Dowden called the advert "crass", adding that the government is investing £1.57bn in the arts in an effort to save jobs.

"This was a partner campaign encouraging people from all walks of life to think about a career in cyber security," he said