As you mention that you both work from home, but that you met him in person, it sounds as if you're locally close together. As such the best thing would be to w

As you mention that you both work from home, but that you met him in person, it sounds as if you're locally close together. As such the best thing would be to work together for one day. Think XP pair programming and start off with version control. Many people would like to learn better techniques, but need a non-stressful environment such as pair programming for it. Since he writes complex code for simple things, it sounds as if he is struggling and he may have a hard time learning more.