Is he getting a W-2 for his earnings? If so, the answer is no, he cannot deduct anything for the tools on his federal return.
-W-2 employees cannot deduct job-related expenses on a federal return. Job-related expenses were eliminated as a federal deduction for W-2 employees by the tax laws that changed for 2018 and beyond. Your state tax laws might be different in AL, AR, CA, HI, MN, NY or PA.
Unfortunately, the short answer is "No". Employee business expenses are no longer tax deductible for federal income tax purposes and education expenses toward a new line of work is not deductible either. If he later becomes self-employed, he may be able to depreciate the value of his tools but that's down the road.
What you may want to go to this link below and see if his training expenses qualify him for any of the education tax credit.
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/education-credits-aotc-llc
Is he getting a W-2 for his earnings? If so, the answer is no, he cannot deduct anything for the tools on his federal return.
-W-2 employees cannot deduct job-related expenses on a federal return. Job-related expenses were eliminated as a federal deduction for W-2 employees by the tax laws that changed for 2018 and beyond. Your state tax laws might be different in AL, AR, CA, HI, MN, NY or PA.