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Impact of Industry Mentorship on Professional Skill Development among Accounting Education Students in Nigerian Polytechnics

Abstract

The changing demands of the accounting profession have increased the need for accounting graduates who possess relevant technical, digital, analytical, communication, interpersonal, and professional skills. Accounting education in Nigerian polytechnics is expected to prepare students for effective professional practice by combining theoretical knowledge with practical workplace experiences. Industry mentorship provides students with opportunities to interact with experienced accounting professionals who can provide guidance, demonstrate professional practices, share workplace experiences, provide feedback, and support the development of career-related competencies. Through sustained interaction with industry mentors, students may gain greater exposure to accounting procedures, professional ethics, workplace communication, problem-solving, technology use, teamwork, and professional decision-making. However, limited industry participation, inadequate mentorship structures, weak institution-industry partnerships, inconsistent mentor availability, and insufficient coordination of mentorship programmes may constrain the development of students' professional skills. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of industry mentorship on professional skill development among accounting education students in Nigerian polytechnics. The study will be anchored on Social Learning Theory, Experiential Learning Theory, and Human Capital Theory. Social Learning Theory emphasizes learning through observation, modelling, interaction, and feedback, providing a suitable framework for examining how students acquire professional behaviours and skills by interacting with experienced accounting practitioners. Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes learning through concrete experiences, reflection, conceptualization, and active experimentation, explaining how mentorship can complement classroom instruction with practical professional experiences. Human Capital Theory explains how investment in relevant education, training, and professional development improves individuals' knowledge, competencies, productivity, and employability. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how industry mentorship may influence professional skill development among accounting education students. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise National Diploma and Higher National Diploma accounting education students enrolled in selected public and private polytechnics across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, polytechnics, schools or departments, levels of study, and eligible accounting education students. Industry mentorship will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of mentor-student interaction, duration of mentorship, mentor professional experience, relevance of mentorship activities, practical accounting guidance, career guidance, workplace exposure, professional demonstrations, feedback, coaching, problem-solving discussions, ethical guidance, accounting technology exposure, professional networking, workplace communication, goal setting, mentoring meetings, mentor accessibility, and institution-industry coordination. Students' professional skill development will be assessed using indicators such as bookkeeping competence, financial reporting skills, auditing skills, taxation skills, accounting software competence, financial analysis, data analysis, digital literacy, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, professional ethics, adaptability, time management, interpersonal skills, workplace communication, and ability to apply accounting knowledge to realistic professional situations. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized professional skills assessment instruments, practical accounting tasks, competency-based tests, mentor evaluation forms where available, observation checklists, mentorship participation records, 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, mentor characteristics, frequency of professional interaction, and levels of professional skill development. 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 mentorship on students' professional skill development. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, professional skill scores before and after participation in industry mentorship may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the mentorship programme. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that industry mentorship has a significant positive impact on professional skill development among accounting education students in Nigerian polytechnics. Students who participate in structured and sustained industry mentorship are expected to demonstrate stronger technical, digital, analytical, communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, teamwork, ethical, and workplace-readiness skills than students with limited or no comparable mentorship exposure. Interaction with experienced accounting professionals may enable students to observe professional practices, receive individualized guidance, obtain feedback on their performance, and better understand how accounting knowledge is applied in workplace situations. Mentors may also expose students to professional ethics, accounting technologies, workplace expectations, career pathways, and emerging developments in the accounting profession. However, inadequate mentor availability, irregular meetings, weak mentorship structures, limited participation by accounting professionals, poor institution-industry coordination, insufficient funding, and mismatches between students' needs and mentors' areas of expertise may reduce the effectiveness of mentorship programmes. The study therefore expects structured, accessible, professionally relevant, and well-coordinated industry mentorship to contribute significantly to improved professional skill development among accounting education students in Nigerian polytechnics. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on industry mentorship, professional skill development, accounting education, workplace learning, experiential learning, social learning, employability skills, industry-academic collaboration, professional development, and technical education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Board for Technical Education, polytechnic management, accounting education departments, accounting educators, professional accounting bodies, accounting firms, employers, industry mentors, curriculum developers, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening the practical and professional orientation of accounting education. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for establishing structured industry mentorship programmes, developing formal partnerships between polytechnics and accounting organizations, training and supporting industry mentors, matching students with relevant professional mentors, incorporating mentorship activities into accounting education programmes, monitoring mentorship outcomes, strengthening student-industry networking opportunities, and ensuring that accounting education students acquire the professional skills required for effective performance in Nigeria's evolving accounting profession.

Keywords: Industry mentorship, professional skill development, accounting education students, employability skills, workplace learning, experiential learning, social learning, industry-academic collaboration, professional development, accounting education, Nigerian polytechnics, Nigeria.