Case Study: Canterbury District Health Board achieves improved learner engagement and knowledge retention with Totara Learn

CDHB healthcare provider improves learner engagement and knowledge retention

Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) is the primary healthcare planner, funder and provider for New Zealand’s Canterbury region and the largest employer in the South Island, with over 9,000 staff. CDHB was frustrated by an existing open‑source learning platform that offered little high‑level reporting or tracking, forcing time‑consuming manual processes and leaving managers without visibility of learner performance or training completion.

CDHB implemented Totara Learn as healthLearn to deliver competency‑based online pre‑learning, video‑conferenced face‑to‑face sessions and rapid training during outbreaks, while integrating learning data with HR systems and using guest access to scale across other district health boards and external providers. The result: more than 6,000 enrolled users and 5,000 guest users, markedly improved learner engagement and knowledge retention, greater training efficiency and cost‑effectiveness, full reporting and tracking, and stronger connections across geographically dispersed staff.

Canterbury District Health Board

Neil Hellewell

Nurse Educator – Professional Development Unit