Bathurst Correctional Centre general manager Bill Fittler said it’s an opportunity to begin a career that makes a difference to community safety.

“This is an exceptional opportunity for local men and women looking to make a difference. They can be assured they will have job satisfaction as a correctional officer,” he said.

“We are on the frontline of community safety and responsible for the custody, care, supervision, welfare and rehabilitation of inmates.”

The positions for correctional officers to fill casual vacancies, with opportunities for permanent positions in the future, are available at Bathurst, Lithgow, Oberon and Wellington correctional centres.

It comes after the NSW Government reopened the Kirkconnell Correctional Centre outside Bathurst, which had been mothballed in 2011.

Applicants are expected to have people skills, be assertive and self-confident, and come to the job with a good attitude and high level of maturity.

Being in top physical condition is not a necessity for these roles, but applicants will undergo a medical assessment as well as a criminal record check.

A nine-week training course will be provided at Bathurst Correctional Centre for the 60 successful recruits, starting in mid-April 2015.

It will cover legislative requirements, security work, personal protection and handling inmates.

Alison Howe, a correctional officer in Bathurst who has seven years of experience in the role, can understand people being apprehensive about working with inmates.

But she said working as part of a large team means the environment is quite safe, and if the inmates are treated with respect they will usually respond the same way.

Ms Howe said the job can be very rewarding if officers are able to help rehabilitate an inmate.

“If I can turn one life around in seven years, that is pretty good,” she said.

Advertisements for casual correctional officers have run in  Central West newspapers over the past week.

Applications can be submitted online at www.jobs.nsw.gov.au