1 in 7 People + $1 Trillion Lost: João Santos on EU-India Skills & Economic Resilience

In this powerful conversation, EU skills architect João Santos (lead designer behind Europe’s Centres of Vocational Excellence) sits down with psychologist Kirti Tarang Pande to explain why psychological well-being is the core infrastructure of any inclusive skills ecosystem—not an optional add-on.

From the $1 trillion annual global loss due to mental health-related absenteeism to the 4:1 ROI on every dollar invested in psychological resilience, João dismantles the myth that short-term capital and tech alone drive competitiveness. 

We explore:

• Why schools must teach emotional resilience before age 14
• How AI is shortening skill shelf-life and demanding lifelong agency
• Brain circulation vs brain drain: the real EU-India mobility story
• The 5 hidden constraints on the future of work (inequality, gender, trust, political economy & institutional capacity)
• Structural reforms that turn empowerment from rhetoric into economic infrastructure

If you care about the future of work, AI ethics, youth mental health or Indo-European collaboration, this is your must-watch episode.