Best to give up now before he wastes any more money.
I can't agree with this, in fact it is an incredibly upsetting and depressing thing to tell anyone who has managed to get his licence in the first place. All pilots who are human, and particularly if they are of a conscientious disposition will suffer some degree of nerves but some more so than others. I suffered badly post PPL and I would say it took me maybe 150 hours before I was "fully" comfortable.
There is a good deal of info on the subject out there on the net if you look. Here is one link and I know there has also been an article in either the UK Aopa mag or Gasco mag on the subject (Can't remember which one) Various psychological techniques are also available to deal with the problem which is most definitely not insurmountable.