We should all remember that when someone says there is a "pilot shortage" in a country, we can't categorically say that they need just ANY pilots. They definitely need captains and TRIs/TREs. Some places do need FOs too, but from what I'm seeing they mostly want FOs they can upgrade real fast to captain...to fill the captain shortage. It seems like the best first steps are getting an ICAO-unrestricted ATPL and a type rating and/or about 500 t-prop time. I think a decent plan is to focus on getting these three things: TR, 500 t-prop or 500 on type FO, and ICAO unrestricted ATPL.