Friend returning after 4yrs career break

My friend who worked in IT product company for about 14yrs took a career break of 4yrs due to personal issues ( family, divorce, taking care of aging parents at hometown ) . His performance was always very good in his team. Now he wants to return to industry preferably in product companies. He was fairly in touch with technology during the break and has been preparing rigorously for past two months. He is getting only few interview calls and companies don’t seem to be willing to take him. Anyone faced similar situation ? Any suggestions for him ? How can he get back in his career ?