Case Study: Northumberland County Council achieves 80% reduction in training delivery costs with Totara

Northumberland County Council reduce the cost of training delivery by a staggering 80%

Northumberland County Council supports around 6,000 staff across a large rural area and was struggling with fragmented databases, time-consuming and unreliable training data capture, and growing demands around talent management and appraisal. The Learning & Organisational Development team needed a fast, cost‑effective way to unify delivery, improve consistency and give employees ownership of development without long IT projects or high fees.

Learning Pool (a Totara Platinum Partner) implemented Totara Learn with rapid deployment, bespoke content and dedicated support, creating one central LMS with individual development plans and self‑service booking. In one year the council cut training delivery costs by 80% (to about £4 per employee per hour), saved over 10,000 hours of classroom delivery and 1,200 hours of administration, reduced CO2/fuel use, increased engagement (5,800 accounts, 500+ weekly logins) and introduced online appraisals and 360° feedback to sustain the cultural shift.

Northumberland County Council

Paul Brooks

Learning & Organisational Development Manager