Not all the time, and I personally don't consider it nice that you would assume that. There are indications in the story that the organizers know something about the full story, and I doubt they would actively perpetuate a fraud.

For reference, I started programming when I was 6, did a little hardware design (easy stuff, interfacing DACs and RAM chips to 8 bit CPUs), wrote an assembler at 9, got a patent when I was 12, etc. My dad did a lot to inspire me and provide me with resources, and had some knowledge of electrical stuff (he had been an electrician in the Navy in WW2), but all the programming I did was very much mine. So it's not hard at all for me to believe that this young man completed a training course intended to get people up to speed on this technology.