What Does Digital Upskilling Mean to Tech?

The signals are there offering the impetus to the U.S. workforce to become increasingly tech-savvy in a hurry.

A word was even coined for it: “Digital upskilling.”

The idea of this development in digital skills is, in fact, the reason why every investor needs to look at tech growth stocks as the cornerstone of their investment portfolio.

To understand the trajectory of tech growth stocks, analyzing the entry level of industry employment offers a clearer snapshot of the meat and bones of the industry.

The tech workforce is upskilling precisely because they are incentivized with the opportunity to secure higher salaries.

The higher salaries exist precisely because tech corporations can afford to pay their workers more when they participate in a business cycle that delivers 40% higher revenue than the year before.

It’s a virtuous cycle that not only enriches the shareholder but is a golden chance for U.S. workers to secure a high-quality life when other U.S. industries like retail, hospitality, and energy have crashed and burned.

The very day that tech companies stop doling out larger than life salaries will be the cue that we are at ex-growth and investors must be able to pivot quickly to target the next growth part of the economy.

The great x-factor of technology is that there will always be a new start-up tech reshaping the industry and old technologies just become obsolete like the fax machine and Atari game console.

Therefore, the upskilling at all levels of the tech ladder means the possibility that someone will strike it rich by discovering a new technology that is able to revolutionize the industry.

Companies are even offering in-company courses to encourage employees to hone their skills.

This can often lead to exciting promotions even in a time where the economy has been throttled to a standstill.

The latest accelerator has been none other than the coronavirus as corporations have been forced to continue operations without the help of a physical office.

Corporations are fast-tracking their embrace of digital technologies and enabling workers to learn wherever they are, whenever they want, on any device.

Around 86% of top-performing companies reported that digital training programs boosted employee engagement and performance.

The aim of tech companies is to load itself with employees skilled in data science, data storage technology skills, tech support, and digital literacy.

Other marketable skills include software development, digital marketing, and IT administration.

The real hurdle in digital upskilling lies in execution, making an entire workforce digitally savvy is a tough chore and there will always be stragglers bringing up the rear.

Corporates have ploughed full steam into upskilling and even though Silicon Valley hasn’t moved on from the smartphone, it is squeezing as much juice from this grapefruit as it can.

We are now onto the Apple (AAPL) iPhone 12 and who knows, we might get to the iPhone 20 or 30.

We are onto the Apple iPhone 12 because it’s a cash cow and that won’t stop which is why investors need to feed their appetite for premium US tech stocks.

Stocks are divided into “value” and “growth” halves. The former consists of the stocks that are cheapest in relation to net assets, current cash flow, and so on. These tend to be older, duller, and less exciting companies.

The other half, “growth,” tends to consist of the glamorous companies that have monopolies.

Just look at the performance of value stocks. The average U.S. large company “value” mutual fund has lost 8% so far this year, even including reinvested dividends.

The average growth fund? It’s up a stunning 30%. And this gap has been going on for years: “Growth” funds have beaten “Value” funds since as far back as 2007, market data show.

From the upskilling at entry-level jobs, there are signs everywhere that investing in high growth tech is the way to go and if you compare tech to the rest of the market in 2020, the numbers are a no-brainer.