Advice on getting a job? Go to a damn temp agency. Start tomorrow if he's lucky.
As far as faking ref's... I'm assuming he's pretty young and not looking for a career. Ref's are basically "Is this person a psychopath? No? Great. Show up on time etc? Great". I'm not sure if it's all states (probably not) but in mine there's a legal gray area that can land you in hot water for giving bad ref's that most people/businesses would rather just avoid despite it being hard to prove.
Typically they just confirm work dates and then follow up with "Are they available for re-hire?" AKA "are they a psycho/lazy/shitty person etc".
Another thing to consider is spinning the 2 year degree (or what it taught you) to apply to multiple things. Learning a troubleshooting mindset (whether as a mechanic or in IT) is a transferable skill to many jobs. Learning how to properly research is a skill. Developing an "analytical mind" is a skill.
As far as faking a reference goes you'll want to google around to find jargon/lingo from the field. There are websites or forums that act as "gathering places" or "the primary internet authority" for stuff from IT to HR. Make sure you look people up on social media (think linked in) so that you aren't pretending to be someone in their circle, from a company that doesn't exist, or from a department that doesn't exist at said company. List your number (so long as it doesn't look close to his, ex: 555-2347 and 555-2349 are often times "family plans") and change your last name on the page. Voice modifiers might help but I'm not sure they have a "sound uniquely human and not like a strange algorithm masking my voice" mode. You're better off finding the friend in your circle who does the best impressions and asking them for help.
I actually have direct experience bullshitting my way through the entire process (did it for fun a while back). Keep in mind that most places will want a mix of experience/quality, cheap, and a "cultural fit" for the team. If you can nail the personality/cultural part often times places will look past otherwise huge issues.
That's about it aside from the generic interview/resume advice that you can find tons of elsewhere.