The skills that matter in the 21st century economy aren't necessarily the logical, number-crunching, analytical abilities that served as a passport to job security for past generations.

	Daniel Marsula, Post-Gazette Click photo for larger image.

Design, creativity and empathy -- so-called "right brain" attributes typically associated with the arts -- are among the fundamental qualities the work force of the future needs to master, innovation expert Dan Pink contends.

That's because nonanalytical skills, such as looking at the big picture and beyond for creative solutions to problems, can't be outsourced or automated, said Mr. Pink, author of "A Whole New Mind," a best-selling book that champions right-brain thinking.

Mr. Pink was in Pittsburgh yesterday to share his views with arts educators and administrators at the Regional Arts Education Day.

This year's event, the fourth annual hosted by the Arts Education Collaborative, was held at Soldiers & Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial, Oakland.

"Arts education is the most important thing for our kids to flourish in the 21st-century economy," Mr. Pink told the audience.

He acknowledged that he was, in a sense, preaching to the choir because participants in yesterday's conference already were engaged in teaching or overseeing art, music, theater, dance and other cultural programs.

But he stressed that arts education was enriching but also critical to young people's survival in companies and organizations that will order workers "to connect the dots ... not just answer A, B or C."

Companies as traditional as General Motors and Procter & Gamble now seek creative people to design new products and explore new ways of doing business, Mr. Pink said. "High concept and high touch is hard to outsource."

What Mr. Pink described as "routine" white-collar work -- including certain types of financial analysis, accounting and law -- is disappearing from the U.S. economy because it can be done using cheaper labor overseas or by using a computer. For instance, millions of Americans download retail software programs to prepare their own taxes, and Web sites offer forms that allow couples to complete much of the paperwork for uncontested divorces without the help of a lawyer.

"For the last generation, machines replaced our backs. For this generation, software is replacing the logical side of our brains. If it's routine work, it gets off-shored or automated," he said.

Mr. Pink said his biggest professional mistake was enrolling in law school in the 1980s.

He didn't like it and didn't aspire to be a lawyer, instead succumbing to pressure from his parents to pursue a career that would provide him "a place in the middle class." Though he completed Yale Law School, he never practiced law.

Mr. Pink, who grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and holds a bachelor's degree in linguistics from Northwestern University, eventually found his way to Washington, D.C., where his last job was chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore from 1995 to 1997.

His first book was "Free Agent Nation," in which he wrote about the rise of people who are self-employed.