It's a tough market for developers right now. One of things he can do is to peruse job boards, like Indeed, to get a feel for what types of jobs companies are hiring for right now. Another thing is to reach out to recruiting firms to see what type of jobs they're recruiting for too and get any tips on how to prepare.

Also, if that's his dream - he shouldn't give up because today's programming positions are sparse. It could change dramatically in some amount of time. In the past, there have even been weirder anomalies in the market where programmer jobs were plentiful, while other jobs were sparse. The silver lining might be that by identifying where his passion is, he'll have time to be more prepared when the market is ready for him.

I'm not sure about the Canadian tech job market, but it's a bad job market for tech workers here in the US right now. I've heard of 1000+ resumes being received for a single role, and I have first-hand knowledge of one hiring manager having received 750 applications for a single role before they stopped accepting submissions. I wouldn't let that discourage your dad from shopping his resume around, but he should definitely temper his expectations due to it.

If he's looking for a junior position, he might consider applying to / asking about roles at industrial management companies (whatever that is, idk =P). He might be able to get himself a junior role by playing up his potential to apply his extensive experience in that field, albeit using new tools & languages.

He should not let his age discourage him. I'm 77 and still enjoy programming. He might get away with turning his age into an asset by marketing himself as an application programmer with deep knowledge of industrial management. If he stressed his ability to easily work with managers in this field and his ability to understand their concerns, the right situation might eagerly welcome him. Good luck!

I think he should start freelancing focusing on one skill and grow from there.