A recent poll found that 87 percent of youths feel they are ready to enter the workforce-but what type of work world will be waiting?



According to a study released by the Institute for the Future, there will be a substantial increase in the number of businesses run by one person with no employees, and an increasing demand for entrepreneurship education.





So how will young people adapt to the work world’s changing landscape? One way is by turning to role models. That’s where a set of business awards comes in. Called the JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement) U.S. Business Hall of Fame, they honor the nation’s most distinguished businesspeople for outstanding contributions to free enterprise, and for serving as role models for the world’s youth. The 2007 laureates include:



• Harold Boeschenstein (1896-1972), Chairman and CEO, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation. Boeschenstein led Owens-Corning from its inception until his retirement in 1967. Today, the company has annual sales of over $6 billion.



• Earl Graves Sr., Founder, Chairman and Publisher, Black Enterprise magazine. Graves started a groundbreaking newsletter in the 1960s, which grew into Black Enterprise magazine-now a multimedia company with sales of nearly $60 million.



• Hugh McColl Jr., Retired Chairman and CEO, Bank of America. McColl built a tiny bank into the nation’s largest consumer financial institution.



• John Schnatter, Founder and Executive Chairman, Papa John’s International, Inc. Schnatter founded Papa John’s while delivering pizzas. Since then, the company has grown to nearly 3,000 restaurants in 50 states and 26 countries.



• Ted Turner, Chairman, Turner Enterprises, Inc. Turner has built an unrivaled portfolio of entertainment and cable television news brands and has donated in excess of $1 billion to philanthropic initiatives.



About JA



JA Worldwide-also known as Junior Achievement-is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and entrepreneurship. Today, it reaches approximately 4 million students in the United States, plus more than 3 million students worldwide.