I thought the exchange downtown had some reps there to help you with the wallets etc? Kind of like bank clerks.
There's Bitcoiniacs at Waves, and the Bitcoin Co-op guys in Gastown. I suppose those are options too.
But this individual is mostly interested in price speculation as part of a diversified investment portfolio. I'm not sure it's important for him to learn about bitcoin wallet security at this point in time. Perhaps that can wait.
that doesn't sound too wise. Bitcoin is meant to encourage personal responsibility. plus it will make him learn and appreciate what Bitcoin is all about.
speculation on the price is somewhat dependent on one being able to hold onto one's coins w/o getting scammed.
Get him to buy a Trezor*. If it's more than play money he's talking about it's not a high price to pay for peace of mind without needing to delve into the depths of the pros and cons, complex processes and precautions involved with the mass of on/off line options there are out there.
I'm definitely with cypherdoc on this one. The idea that it may 'not [be] important for [a newbie] to learn about bitcoin wallet security' from the very get go is surely asking for tears further down the line. One of the main points I talk about in any introduction to Bitcoin (usually whilst waiting for a Piper paper wallet to print off that they pressed the button on that I'm going to send 25 mBTC to) is the importance of understanding the challenge of both keeping a private key from hackers and of keeping it such as we don't lose it (forget passwords etc) ourselves. I usually also use Andreas Antonopolus's story about humans from when someone first wanted to keep a squirrel he'd killed till the following day learned to keep physical stuff safe (hiding stuff is even in the squirrel's DNA) whereas we're useless at backups and security on the whole even though we know we should be more diligent because it's just so new to us.
I don't think owning small amounts of bitcoin on unsecure or make-do wallet solutions encourages someone to learn about security. There are too many other exciting things about bitcoin to be reading up on. I believe losing bitcoins is what prompts us to learn more and do better. If it's just token amounts that's brilliant but more often people don't step up the security as more value is put on a wallet (or the holding increases in value) and that's a precarious position to be in.
This is the trick I use with people like that: I say "If you are not ready to sit down and pay attention to me for half an hour, this is not for you at the moment." It works by activating the opposition reflex. 
Emphatic yes from me! Even with my careful explanations people sometimes ask as they leave: 'So if I don't spend this for some time or if I lose it you get the bitcoins back do you?' Those of us familiar with the Bitcoin paradigm and the uncrackability of strong cryptography in general are so used to it it is easy to forget how alien a concept it is to most that a lost or stolen passphrase/private key is the end of their bitcoins.
* or a Piper Wallet printer