How important are generic skills? A pedagogical reflection on accounting education and work readiness

Higher education is under pressure to produce work-ready graduates, yet a persistent pedagogical challenge is that students often fail to recognize the value of generic skills, such as teamwork, communication, critical thinking, and self-organization, while developing them during their studies. This paper reflects on that challenge in the context of accounting education at Kristianstad University (HKR). Drawing on existing literature and interviews with seven recent HKR accounting graduates working in entry-level positions at large auditing firms, we ask: how can accounting educators better help students understand and value the generic skills developed during their education? Our findings suggest that graduates recognize, in hindsight, the professional relevance of skills they undervalued as students. We argue that making these connections explicit, using alumni as advocates, and building structured reflection into teaching activities are practical steps that can strengthen student motivation without requiring major curriculum changes.