Mickey Bradshaw edged the forklift forward, slipping the metal prongs under a pallet of boxed paper. He lifted the load and shifted into reverse to clear the rack's third level.

"All right, all right. Three more inches," spotter Patrick White said, pausing a moment. "You're clear. Bring it down slow."

Inside a makeshift warehouse, nine men maneuvered heavy equipment, their jail-issued jumpsuits the only sign of where they reside. By the end of the month, they'll have nine college credits and a career studies certificate in warehouse and distribution operations.

For these inmates at Western Tidewater Regional Jail, it's a second, maybe third, chance to do things right. Paul D. Camp Community College runs the nine-week program and provides practice space in its Regional Workforce Development Center.

"The overall goal is to get them jobs," instructor Jeff Jacobs said. "To get them out of that rut they're in."

The students are all classified as "minimum custody," meaning they're the least-violent offenders. They might be locked up for driving under the influence, selling drugs or failing to pay child support, said Ronnie Sharpe, the jail's education director.

Five of the men will be out by March, including White. The 29-year-old said he worked for Walmart loading and unloading tractor-trailers before his arrest for eluding police. His sentence was three years with all but one suspended.

"Trying to make a good thing out of a bad situation," White said. "I can't complain. I'm doing good in my classes."

Paul D. Camp launched the program for its traditional students in 2010, shortly after CenterPoint Properties announced plans to build a warehouse and distribution center off U.S. 58 in Suffolk on more than 900 acres. Two tenants - Ace Hardware Corp. and the Navy Exchange Service Command - have signed on, with plans to lease nearly 700,000 square feet and create about 250 jobs.

The college tailored the program for the jail at Sharpe's request. He had previously initiated GED preparation classes and a food management certification course through Tidewater Community College. The first group of nine inmates finished in April.

The program includes classes focused on business, team building and problem solving, and warehouse and distribution studies. Tuition is paid for using profits from the jail's canteen. The money, by law, must be used for education and recreation programs for inmates, Sharpe said.

Some of the men may never end up in warehouse jobs, Jacobs said, but the certification gives them something to show employers that demonstrates their initiative.

Bradshaw, 45, arrived at the jail six months ago after nearly eight years in the Baskerville and Indian Creek correctional centers. If everything goes as planned, he'll be out in six months, free to see his three children and meet three granddaughters born after he was imprisoned.

Initially, Bradshaw said, he blamed a confidential informant for his arrest on felony drug charges. But he's had lots of time to think. Now he blames himself.

He has taken up reading while incarcerated and completed a cooking apprenticeship at Baskerville. This latest certification will give him another skill for when he re-enters the workforce.

"Right there at the door now," Bradshaw said, noting that his sentence is almost complete. "Proud of myself."

Instructor Wayne White leaned in to offer advice: "Lock that door behind you."