About Us

Who We Are:

Olive Training Consultants is a specialist consultancy supporting organisations across Southeast Asia to improve cross-cultural effectiveness, develop local talent, and build sustainable workforce capability.

We work at the intersection of culture, leadership, and workforce development — helping organisations operate more effectively in environments where international expertise and local teams must work closely together.

Our Background:

Our work is grounded in real-world experience.

With nearly two decades of experience working in Southeast Asia — particularly within the mining and industrial sectors — we have seen first-hand the challenges organisations face when operating across cultures.

These include:

• Expatriate leaders struggling to adapt to local environments
• Miscommunication and misunderstanding between international and local teams
• High-potential local employees not being developed effectively
• Critical knowledge remaining with individuals rather than being transferred into the organisation

These are not theoretical challenges — they are operational realities that impact performance, relationships, and long-term business success.

Why We Exist:

Many organisations invest heavily in bringing in international expertise to support their operations.

However, without the right structures and support in place:

• Cultural misunderstandings can undermine leadership effectiveness
• Local teams may disengage or underperform
• Knowledge is not transferred effectively
• Long-term reliance on expatriates remains

We established Olive Training Consultants to address these challenges directly.

Our focus is on helping organisations move beyond short-term solutions and build the capability, systems, and behaviours required for long-term success.

Our Approach

We do not deliver generic training programmes.

Instead, we take a consultancy-led approach that focuses on real workplace application and measurable outcomes.

Our work typically includes:

• Understanding the organisation through diagnostics (interviews, surveys, assessments)
• Identifying capability gaps and cultural risks
• Designing tailored development solutions
• Embedding learning into daily operations through mentoring and structured frameworks
• Supporting long-term capability development and knowledge transfer

We combine cross-cultural expertise, leadership development, and structured workforce planning to ensure that solutions are practical, relevant, and sustainable.

What Makes Us Different

Most training providers focus on delivering workshops.

We focus on embedding capability.

Our key differentiators:

• Integrated approach
  Combining cross-cultural effectiveness with workforce development and nationalisation strategies
• Real industry experience
  Deep understanding of operational environments in Southeast Asia
• Focus on capability transfer
  Ensuring knowledge moves from expatriates into the organisation
• Practical, behaviour-focused solutions
  Designed for real workplace situations, not theory
• Long-term impact
  Supporting organisations to build sustainable capability, not short-term improvement

Our Commitment

We are committed to helping organisations build stronger, more capable, and more sustainable workforces.

By aligning culture, capability, and leadership, we enable organisations to operate more effectively across borders and develop the talent they need for the future.

Leadership

Olive Training Consultants is led by Colin Harlow, an international training and development specialist with more than two decades of experience designing and implementing workforce development programmes.

Colin has supported organisations across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe, helping companies build capability through structured training systems and leadership development programmes.

His work includes the design and implementation of:

• Nationalisation and workforce development programmes
• Competency-based training systems
• Cross-cultural leadership programmes
• Global mindset development initiatives
• Training department development strategies

Accredited CPD Provider

With extensive experience working across cultures and industries, Colin brings a practical and operational perspective to organisational development.

Olive Training Consultants is an Accredited CPD Provider with the CPD Standards Board.

This accreditation provides independent recognition that our training programmes meet recognised professional development standards and follow structured learning design principles.

CPD accreditation demonstrates our commitment to:

• Professional training standards
• Structured learning outcomes
• High-quality programme design
• Continuous improvement

Participants attending accredited programmes may receive recognised CPD certification supporting their professional development.

Our Accreditation ID: RINYULOT8FBND

 

 

Where We Work

Based in Thailand, Olive Training Consultants supports organisations across Southeast Asia and internationally.

Our work regularly includes:

Thailand
Indonesia
Malaysia
Vietnam
Laos
The Philippines

We also support organisations with international operations worldwide.

Please let us know how we can help you.