Over 70 per cent of employers favour commercial over technical skills in prospective IT staff, according to a new study.

IT ttraining company Training Camp surveyed 30 recruitment agencies to draw up a skills index.

It found that .Net and Java specialists top employers’ list of recruitment priorities in 2004.

According to headhunters, the demand for skilled .Net and Java specialists is matched by employers’ preference for candidates with proven commercial, as well as technical, acumen.

"There’s been a great deal of hype about web services in recent years, but this survey provides hard evidence that the market is finally taking off," said Robert Chapman, co-founder of The Training Camp.

"As IT budgets start to increase, it appears that a large proportion of investment is going into creating a more integrated IT infrastructure.

"Given the often mission-critical nature of this work, it is perhaps no surprise employers are increasingly demanding that IT staff have sound commercial, as well as technical, credentials," he added.