EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS REQUIRED BY ACCOUNTING GRADUATES FOR CAREERS IN ACCOUNTING

Abstract

Employability skills have dominated the attention and desire of employers of labor all over the world. Employers of labor need the requisite skills for their establishments for optimum productivity. This paper attempted to identify employability skills for accounting careers. The skills identified are: conceptual skills, technical skills, interpersonal skills, communication skills and problem-solving skills. These skills are expected to be taught to, learned and acquired by accounting graduates in institutions of higher learning for onward transmission to real job situations. The paper noted that there is the problem of skill mismatch between what is taught in the university and what is demanded is in the labor market. It was advised that, there should be proper consultations between the universities as curriculum implementers and the employers as consumers of labor to agree on the contents and objectives of the graduates accounting program offerings. It was recommended that institutions of higher learning should teach the employability skills identified to accounting students, so that when they graduate, they should be able to work effectively and efficiently in the accounting department of any organization.