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Impact of Industry Guest Mentorship on Career Readiness among Accounting Education Students in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

The changing nature of the accounting profession has increased the demand for graduates who possess not only academic knowledge but also professional awareness, workplace competencies, career planning skills, and the ability to adapt to evolving employment requirements. Accounting education programmes in Nigerian universities are expected to prepare students for successful transition from academic study to professional practice. Industry guest mentorship provides an opportunity for students to interact with experienced accounting professionals who can share workplace experiences, provide career guidance, explain professional expectations, discuss emerging developments in accounting, and expose students to potential career pathways. Unlike conventional classroom instruction, industry guest mentorship may provide direct access to professional role models and practical insights into the realities of accounting careers. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of industry guest mentorship on career readiness among accounting education students in Nigerian universities. The study will be anchored on Social Cognitive Career Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Human Capital Theory. Social Cognitive Career Theory explains career development through the interaction of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, personal goals, and environmental influences, providing a suitable framework for examining how industry mentors may influence students' career confidence and readiness. Social Learning Theory emphasizes learning through observation, modelling, interaction, and feedback, making it relevant to students' exposure to professional role models and workplace experiences. Human Capital Theory explains how investment in education, professional exposure, and skill development improves individuals' competencies, productivity, employability, and career opportunities. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how industry guest mentorship may influence career readiness among accounting education students. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise undergraduate accounting education students enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, and eligible accounting education students. Industry guest mentorship will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of mentorship sessions, duration of mentor-student interaction, professional experience of mentors, relevance of mentorship topics, career guidance, discussion of accounting career pathways, professional qualification guidance, workplace expectations, employability skills, professional ethics, accounting technologies, emerging career opportunities, interview preparation, CV development, networking opportunities, professional communication, workplace problem-solving, mentor feedback, question-and-answer sessions, professional role modelling, and opportunities for continued interaction with mentors. Students' career readiness will be assessed using indicators such as career awareness, knowledge of accounting career pathways, career decision-making, career planning, employability skills, professional communication, interview preparedness, CV preparation, networking ability, digital competence, workplace adaptability, professional confidence, knowledge of employer expectations, understanding of professional ethics, knowledge of professional certification pathways, job-search skills, and confidence in transitioning from university to professional employment. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized career-readiness assessment instruments, mentorship participation records, employability skills assessments, scenario-based career tasks, professional development activities, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental design is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, mentorship experiences, exposure to accounting professionals, career awareness, and levels of career readiness. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of industry guest mentorship on students' career readiness. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, career-readiness scores before and after participation in industry guest mentorship may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that industry guest mentorship has a significant positive impact on career readiness among accounting education students in Nigerian universities. Students exposed to structured and professionally relevant mentorship from accounting practitioners are expected to demonstrate stronger career awareness, professional confidence, career-planning skills, employability competencies, networking abilities, interview preparedness, and understanding of workplace expectations than students without comparable industry exposure. Interaction with industry professionals may enable students to gain realistic insights into accounting career pathways, professional qualifications, workplace culture, emerging accounting roles, and the skills demanded by employers. Mentors may also provide practical guidance on CV development, interviews, professional networking, digital accounting technologies, professional ethics, and career decision-making. However, irregular mentorship sessions, limited participation by experienced professionals, weak university-industry partnerships, inadequate coordination, limited access to mentors, and insufficient opportunities for continued professional interaction may reduce the effectiveness of industry guest mentorship. The study therefore expects accessible, structured, sustained, and professionally relevant industry guest mentorship to contribute significantly to improved career readiness among accounting education students in Nigerian universities. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on industry guest mentorship, career readiness, accounting education, employability skills, career development, professional mentoring, industry-academic collaboration, workplace preparation, Social Cognitive Career Theory, and higher education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, universities, accounting education departments, accounting educators, professional accounting bodies, accounting firms, employers, career development centres, industry professionals, curriculum developers, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving students' transition from university to professional employment. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for establishing structured industry guest mentorship programmes, strengthening partnerships between universities and accounting organizations, engaging experienced accounting professionals as mentors, integrating mentorship into accounting education programmes, providing career-development activities alongside mentorship sessions, creating opportunities for professional networking, strengthening students' awareness of professional certification and career pathways, and preparing accounting education students for successful entry into Nigeria's evolving accounting profession.

Keywords: Industry guest mentorship, career readiness, accounting education students, employability skills, career development, professional mentoring, industry-academic collaboration, workplace readiness, accounting education, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.