Perceived Soft Skills Needed and Posessed by Baccalureate Accounting Education Graduates for Effective Job Performance.

Abstract

The study examined employers’ perception of the needed and possessed soft skills/competencies by Accounting Education Baccalaureate Graduates. The study is a descriptive survey design. The population for the study comprised of employers of Accounting Education baccalaureate graduates working in both private and public sectors in Enugu, South East Nigeria. Out of the population size 200 Employers of Accounting officers were selected using simple random sampling. A structured questionnaire made up of sections was developed for the study. Section A explored the perceived needed skills to perform effectively in their workplaces while Section B requested for the level of possession of the needed skills by the employees. Three experts validated the instrument. Two research questions and two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The items were rated on a four (4) point Likert scale. Mean score was used to analyze the research questions and t-test was used in testing the hypotheses. The findings revealed employers generally perceived 95% of the listed skills as essential for employability of accounting education graduates while about 60% of those skills were moderately possessed. Only very few were highly possessed. The findings equally revealed that there is significant difference in the mean ratings of Private and Public sectors employers’ perception of needed and possessed skills, hence both null hypotheses were rejected. The researcher therefore recommended that Universities and other Higher institutions should ensure the development of these competencies during the formative years of these Accounting educators.