NOC 43201: Correctional service officers
What correctional service officers do
Correctional service officers guard offenders and detainees and maintain order in correctional institutions and other places of detention. Primary workers develop women offender's correctional plan and work with other service officers in the correctional team. They are employed by federal, provincial and municipal governments. Correctional service officers who are supervisors are included in this unit group.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Observe conduct and behaviour of offenders and detainees to prevent disturbances and escapes
- Supervise offenders during work assignments, meals and recreation periods
- Patrol assigned area and report any problems to supervisor
- Conduct security checks and scanning of visitors, inmates and their cells, working areas and recreational activity areas
- Observe behaviour of offenders and prepare reports
- Escort detainees in transit and during temporary leaves
- Prepare admission, program, release, transfer and other reports
- May supervise and coordinate work of other correctional service officers
- May develop offenders' correctional plan and facilitate their participation in reintegration programs in collaboration with psychologists, behavioral counsellors, parole officers and others.
Job titles under NOC 43201
25 job titles are classified here, including correctional facility guard, correctional officers supervisor, correctional service officer.
- convict guard
- correctional facility guard
- correctional institution guard
- correctional institution head matron
- correctional officer
- correctional officers supervisor
- correctional service officer
- correctional services unit supervisor
- corrections officer
- detention attendant
- detention guard
- escort - correctional services
- head correctional officer
- head matron - correctional service
- institution guard - correctional service
- jail guard
- jailer
- matron - correctional service
- penal institution guard
- penitentiary guard
- primary worker - correctional service
- primary worker/kimisinaw - correctional service
- prison guard
- prison officer
Employment requirements
- Completion of secondary school is required.
- Post-secondary education in correctional services, police studies or criminology is required in New Brunswick, Quebec, Alberta and Prince Edward Island.
- Correctional officer recruits must successfully complete the Correctional Service of Canada training course to be employed by federal institutions.
- Correctional officer recruits are usually required to complete a basic training course to be employed by provincial/territorial institutions.
- Physical agility, strength and fitness requirements must be met.
- Correctional service supervisors require experience as a correctional service officer.
- First aid certification and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training are usually required.
Correctional service officers wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $28.85/hr | $36.15/hr | $46.15/hr |
Toronto ON | $32.00/hr | $39.54/hr | $65.38/hr |
Montréal QC | $29.88/hr | $37.85/hr | $44.50/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $32.05/hr | $40.00/hr | $48.50/hr |
Calgary AB | $28.81/hr | $38.28/hr | $45.52/hr |
Edmonton AB | $27.80/hr | $37.50/hr | $45.06/hr |
Ottawa ON | $34.00/hr | $39.37/hr | $44.00/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $30.00/hr | $37.00/hr | $43.75/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $31.25/hr | $38.98/hr | $47.00/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $31.14/hr | $35.59/hr | $63.22/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $29.43/hr | $38.21/hr | $49.04/hr |
London ON | $31.00/hr | $37.00/hr | $40.00/hr |
Halifax NS | $29.00/hr | $34.00/hr | $51.79/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $29.14/hr | $37.31/hr | $45.81/hr |
Saskatoon Saskatoon–Biggar region, SK | $32.00/hr | $36.06/hr | $50.48/hr |
Regina Regina–Moose Mountain region, SK | $29.18/hr | $35.00/hr | $38.05/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $30.68/hr | $32.00/hr | $39.84/hr |
Nova Scotia | $25.64/hr | $34.00/hr | $45.00/hr |
New Brunswick | $24.04/hr | $34.00/hr | $42.79/hr |
Quebec | $31.25/hr | $38.98/hr | $47.00/hr |
Ontario | $29.43/hr | $39.00/hr | $48.08/hr |
Manitoba | $29.14/hr | $37.00/hr | $43.75/hr |
Saskatchewan | $30.00/hr | $35.00/hr | $45.00/hr |
Alberta | $27.00/hr | $36.00/hr | $46.15/hr |
British Columbia | $32.00/hr | $36.00/hr | $48.00/hr |
Using NOC 43201 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 25 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Detention home worker (NOC 42201)
- Managers in social, community and correctional services (NOC 40030)
- Probation and parole officers (NOC 41311)
- Social workers (NOC 41300)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for correctional service officers?
Correctional service officers are NOC 2021 unit group 43201. Example job titles in this group include correctional facility guard, correctional officers supervisor, correctional service officer, primary worker/kimisinaw - correctional service.
What TEER is NOC 43201?
NOC 43201 is TEER 3 (College or apprenticeship (under 2 years)). Usually requires a college program or apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or more than six months of on-the-job training. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do correctional service officers earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $36.15/hr, about $70,000 a year full-time, with a range of $28.85/hr to $46.15/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.