Don't bother. There are no programming jobs in Europe. If you don't have a degree, give up twice as hard.
Do you believe this to be insufficient? What would tie the room together in your opinion? Do you reckon that applying for remote work in the US and other Anglophone territories would be more successful? My ultimate goal is to move in 2-3 years, and I am more than willing to put work into my portfolio.
The job market is not so good as in the US but what you're saying is simply not true.
Delivery manager was unwilling to hire people without proven 'consultant' mindset. Joke's on them, people are leaving the company en-masse, even if won tenders are sitting in their pockets. Without a dedicated workforce, they cannot even start on those projects, and what they have are already locked up with their running clients.
Also, they don't pay well, but they are under the impression that they do.