I hear ya. It's a generational thing. Another gun owner is a good thing. Kudos for the kid being in a trade.
Yup. Being his boss, you should take the kid to a real gun store, or a gun show. Make him wear some decent Carhartt's, like you're going to a "fancy job", then take him to look at some shotguns. Heck, if he's working real hard, maybe buy him one, or at least convince him to take it in place of pay or something. Gotta bring him into the world correctly.