Employers’ expectations of accounting skills from vocational education providers: The expectation gap between employers and ITPs

This study examines whether a gap exists between employers' skills expectations and the skills accounting students acquired during their undergraduate accounting programme at several institutes of technology and polytechnics (ITPs) in New Zealand. Extant studies have examined the technical accounting skills expectation gap at the university level but the case of vocational education providers has not been sufficiently explored. Data were collected using a survey instrument. Descriptive analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling were undertaken to describe the technical accounting skills expectation gap and the factors associated with the employers' perceived technical accounting skills gap. While employers' expectations and the technical skills acquired by students during their tertiary education in ITPs were mainly aligned, there is variability in the results when the employers' business location and size are taken into consideration. This study provides insights on the consistency between ITPs' undergraduate accounting programmes and the factors that influence employers’ expectations of technical accounting skills from ITPs. The findings are expected to support vocational educational managers in developing technical accounting curricula and prepare accounting students for the opportunities and challenges in the accounting profession.