Jones County Junior College has a $1.1 million loan to build a training center in Green County, near Leakesville, to train people for shipyard careers.

The Green County Training Center will feature a welding lab, pipefitting lab, computer lab, covered work area, five classrooms and offices.

The no-interest loan comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Service.

Jim Walley, the college’s vice president of external affairs, says coastal shipbuilders are anxious to find workers who know metal trades, and the college has a waiting list of nearly 60 people who want to learn.

He says that students who now commute to Ellisville may be able to complete their first two semesters in Leakesville. That would eliminate a 90-minute drive.