Skipping the degree for Software Engineering

A cousin of mine screwed up his college admission process, and has a single college from the kcet process on the other side of the city and his family's budget for any college education is non-existent. (ie. he'll have to get a loan)

Would it work to get him started working on projects to build up a portfolio which can be leveraged to get a job later on?

Would also request for any study/training plan for him to follow to get him skilled for the job.