I have to disagree with you.
You are probably right that among those 4500 applicants there are a lot who do not really qualify, so the number cannot really be used in this matter.
But the fact is that there actually are a lot of people who meet their previous requirements who still have not been offered an interview. There are also a lot of people who do not meet the exact previous requirements, but that nevertheless have a lot of experience and internal recommendations that also exceeds or at least equals what previously employed first officers in Norwegian had when they were hired.
Personally I know many, and believe me I do not have many contacts in the aviation business! These people all speak Norwegian fluently as well. I believe these people also should be given a chance. Why shouldn't they? Why does someone with only 100 hours of PIC time deserve a chance instead of someone who has for example 1000 hours PIC and a lot of multi time, even some jet or turboprop time in some cases?
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that low time pilots are not qualified for the job or that MPL pilots are not qualified. I am just saying that if they already have a lot of people to choose from with their previous entry requirements, there is really no reason to lower these requirements!
I also do agree that experience does not equal hours, but neither is there a reason to assume that a low-time pilot has more experience than a pilot with many hours, obviously. It's more the other way around, actually.
I also do not understand why you wish that the classes be filled by graduates from Tromsų. With all due respect to the graduates there (I have no doubt they are trained well and they are probably excellent pilots), there is no reason for them to deserve a job in Norwegian more than the other Scandinavians who have strived to complete their education elsewhere (even before Tromsų opened) and that have worked hard to acquire flight time and experience to get a job with e.g. Norwegian. To me that is very unfair to them.
In the end it's Norwegians company and they will do as they please. I just can't make sense out of it.