The latest release from Totara marks a major step forward for organisations managing complex compliance, workforce development, and learner engagement. Totara V20 introduces a range of features designed to reduce admin workload, strengthen compliance oversight, and create more personalised learning experiences—all within one platform.
Stronger compliance and certification management
Compliance management gets a meaningful upgrade in V20. A new certification compliance reporting block gives managers instant visibility into certification status across teams—no need to build custom reports every time. With drill-down insights and clear visuals, it’s easier than ever to identify gaps and stay audit-ready.
The platform also introduces multi-year recertification pathways, allowing organisations to handle complex compliance requirements with greater flexibility. A single certification can now manage multiple learning paths, expiry rules, and reinstatement behaviours. This ensures mandatory training stays accurate and up to date over time.
More control for learners
Totara V20 puts more power into learners’ hands with self-enrolment for programs and certifications. Learners can browse the catalogue and enrol or withdraw on their own, encouraging self-directed learning even in compliance-heavy environments. For administrators, this means fewer manual assignments and less time spent managing enrolments.
Skills-focused workforce development
Reflecting the growing emphasis on skills over traditional competencies, V20 introduces several tools to help organisations better understand and develop their workforce capabilities. The new Team Skill Proficiency block gives managers a clear snapshot of their team’s strengths and skill gaps, making it easier to plan targeted development.
Enhanced reporting visuals, skill rating by audience (ideal for regulated industries like healthcare), and a new “skill proficiency” audience type all work together to support smarter training decisions and more personalised learning pathways.
Built-in AI to boost efficiency
Totara V20 also introduces a suite of AI-powered tools designed to save time and improve content quality. These include an AI writing assistant to refine course text, AI image generation for learning materials, an AI knowledge check tool for quick quizzes, and a SMART goal assistant to support personal development planning. Together, these tools streamline content creation and help L&D teams deliver more engaging learning experiences.
Time-saving admin enhancements
Behind the scenes, V20 includes several workflow improvements that reduce admin friction. Audience preview panels show exactly how changes will affect user groups before they’re applied. Report exports now run in the background, allowing admins to keep working while data processes. Improvements to mandatory fields and user status visibility also enhance data accuracy and usability.
Improved discovery and accessibility
Learners benefit from smarter search capabilities, including partial word matching, improved wildcard search, and spelling suggestions. Enhanced catalogue recommendations make it easier to find relevant learning content quickly. Accessibility and UI tweaks further improve the user experience across dashboards.
Flexible learning anywhere
Finally, Totara V20 supports learning in any environment. New offline mobile sync options allow learners to control how and when content syncs, while digital attendance check-ins for seminars—via QR code or secure link—replace manual roll calls and improve attendance tracking accuracy.
Totara V20 is a thoughtful evolution of the platform, blending compliance, skills development, and user experience into one cohesive update. Whether your priority is regulatory compliance, workforce upskilling, or learner engagement, this release delivers practical tools to help you do it more efficiently—and more effectively.