The National Youth Agency (NYA) has launched a consultation to discover the level of support within the sector for an Institute for Youth Work.

Such an organisation would act as a sector body and be owned by its membership. The NYA will oversee the consultation, planning and development and hopes that this first stage of the process will also identify the services it could provide and the structures that will be necessary to support it.

It is part of the organisation’s work as a strategic partner for young people with the Department of Education as part of the Catalyst consortium.

Catalyst is co-ordinated by the National Council of Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) and the other members are Social Enterprise UK and the Young Foundation. Over the next two years the partners will work on projects to strengthen the youth market, equip the sector to work with the government and co-ordinate a skills development strategy for the youth sector’s workforce.

Amanda Fearn, NYA development officer, said: “This is an opportunity for colleagues to consider the broad principles and values of a potential Institute that would be an independent body owned by its membership.”

The consultation will run until 30 November. A survey is available to complete online and a feedback event will be held at the NYA’s offices in Leicester on 8 November. Material will also be made available to organisations collecting responses from their own stakeholders.