SHETLAND companies are said to have bucked the trend by taking on a record 87 new apprentice starts during 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic. Train Shetland vocational manager Kevin Briggs said: âWeâre very happy to have been able to support these 87 apprenticeships across the isles, and across a wide variety of employment sectors. 9 of 14Adverts “The recent Apprentice Employerâs Grant from Skills Development Scotland was a big factor in securing more apprentices in engineering, construction and social care.â A particular area which has seen an increase in apprenticeships is agriculture, with six new apprentices starting their training on farms around Shetland.