He could try the military route - not everyone's cup of tea, and not easy to get into, but it is an option.
If going the civil route, I'd suggest going modular at a steady pace. He could get a job and pay for PPL, hour building, ATPL theory and CPL as he goes along. You could then pay for the IR for him at the end (about £15k). He will then be debt free and hopefully qualifying when the job market is better than now.