Right at home: Caitlin Thornton

Twenty-three-year-old Caitlin Thornton is right at home working in Quality Roading and Service’s traffic management division.

“This is definitely where I feel most comfortable,” says Caitlin, Ngati Pahauwera. “I've been around Wairoa all my life.”

Growing up in the region Caitlin started work young with jobs in the hospitality and meat industries, before signing on as a labourer with QRS in early 2022.

“I saw the job advertised and thought it could be something different for me, something totally new, so I applied,” she says. “I thought this could be my place to learn and grow.”

Learn she did. After joining the company Caitlin trained in chainsaw use and traffic management and earned her full driver's licence. She’s already eyeing up her Class 2 learner licence so she can learn to drive heavy vehicles.

Caitlin works in the traffic management division and has honed her skills in improving safety and traffic flow while working on the road. “People think it's just about standing there with a stop-go sign but it's not,” she says.

“You have to know how to do really big set-ups, and you get to learn about how those set-ups have been designed to create a safe space on the road.”

Outside of work Caitlin loves spending time with her partner and their two-year-old son but says there's still lots to learn on the job site.

“The people at QRS have always been so supportive and welcoming so who knows,” she says, gazing up the road at the machinery clearing slip material off the highway, “one day it could be me driving those diggers.”

8 November 2022

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