
lemeres |

If you could not use skill feats for those slots... you would have access to 75% of all general feats at level 1 (assuming you are playing with only the core rule book).
If I didn't just miscount, there are thirteen lvl 1, two lvl 3, one lvl 7, and one lvl 11 general feats that are not skill feats. The lvl 7 and lvl 11 feats also have prerequisites that would bar you for a long time if you aren't playing particular classes.
So yes- you can grab skill feats. Here's to hoping we can get interesting feat paths with more releases.

lemeres |

Oh really? I thought it was strange that all the Generals were available at low level, but I thought it was just because it was a new system. Darn, I didn't need to agonize over that skill feat selection after all lol.
And if you really wanted to get silly with substitutions, a human could use a general feat in order to get an ancestry feat (via ancestral paragon), which they can then use to get a 1st level class feat (via natural ambition).
Of course those are one off feats. But it means that you have the option to use general feats to relieve a lot of pressure on your build.