Google the term "millennials are…" and one of the first suggested searches is "millennials are lazy".

But the latest employment data suggests the opposite may actually be the case, with many struggling with exploitation and lack of opportunity.

Youth unemployment is currently at 12.5 per cent, well above the national average of 5.6 per cent, and according to a 2017 jobs figures analysis by the Brotherhood of St Lawrence, when the underemployed are added, around a third of all young Australians are either not working or not getting the hours they want.

Unemployed

Iesha Te Paa he been looking for a job as an apprentice mechanic for months. ( ABC News: Madeleine Morris )

Nineteen-year-old Iesha Te Paa is looking for work.

She's after an automotive apprenticeship in Brisbane.

"I've easily applied for over a hundred within the last six months or so," she told 7.30.

And actual job offers?

"Two," she said, laughing.

In her first garage job Iesha spent eight months on a trial that kept getting extended before she was abruptly let go.

"They don't want to sign you on as an apprentice and they don't want to have to pay more because they have to help with the apprenticeship as well," Iesha told 7.30.

Apprenticeships have traditionally been fertile ground for young workers, but these day, Iesha said, some employers are taking advantage.

"A lot of what I've been seeing is, once you're hired, usually just before TAFE, they'll kick you off or they'll keep extending your trial," she said.

"That's really, really common in the industry at the moment."

She worked 50-60 hours a week and was paid just $10 an hour.

Iesha Te Paa says nothing will stop her following her passion to be a mechanic. ( ABC News: Madeleine Morris )

And, unlike the young male employees, she says she was rarely given the chance to learn anything about the trade.

"I'd always try to sneak underneath the bonnet or underneath the hoist with one of the mechanics but I was constantly yelled at or told to start cleaning," she said.

"I don't want to pull the sexist card, but they were quite nasty and they were also quite harassing as well."

Keelia Fitzpatrick is the co-ordinator at Melbourne's Young Workers' Centre.

She helps young people with their work rights, and her job is getting busier by the day.

"In certain areas we know there's huge demand for more and more apprentices on jobs, but the quality of apprenticeships is quite questionable, she told 7.30.

"We know that, because 50 per cent of young people who start apprenticeships don't finish them, and that's compared to an OECD average of 70 per cent."

Iesha is now knocking on garage doors as far away as Ipswich and Toowoomba in search of a job.

"[I'm] really trying to get back into it and nothing will put me off my passion," she said.

Underemployed

William Yates has been working in theatres for three years but is only now getting paid jobs. ( ABC News: Madeleine Morris )

William Yates is 24 years old and wants to work in theatres and other venues doing technical management and sound and light design.

He's been working in the industry for three years while he finishes his music degree, but he's only recently started getting paid for it.

And the work he's getting is very insecure.

"I'm currently employed at two venues, and I freelance," he told 7.30.

"[I] have worked for four or five different companies in the last 12 months."

In any one week he could work at multiple places.

"I have on average maybe an hour of paid work a week," William said.

"If you're looking at a monthly average, [I get] maybe seven hours. Seven to 12 hours a month [of paid work].

"I'd love to get 10 to 20 hours a week at the moment."

William Yates often juggles work at a number of venues. ( ABC News: Madeleine Morris )

William is barely getting by.

"Centrelink helps," he admitted.

"And I've got some savings, but not much.

"The odd freelance job that comes in, I put as much of it aside as I possibly can to live off."

Like many casual workers, William regularly scours Facebook groups for jobs.

"When a job comes up on Facebook you've got to jump on it pretty quick because all the good ones get picked up pretty fast," he said.

"It's pretty tough, but as I get more work I get more contacts, and more contacts means more work in the future."

Underpaid?

Kim Chibnall is trying to recover unpaid wages from the cafe she used to work at. ( ABC News: Madeleine Morris )

It's 6:30am on ANZAC Day and Kim Chibnall is heading off to work at Cafe Touchwood in Melbourne's inner-city Richmond.

"I started working at Touchwood in January 2017, waitressing," she told 7.30.

"That just involves serving food, taking orders, serving coffees, working at the till, that kind of thing."

Working on a public holiday, Kim believes she should be getting over $45 an hour.

But she's not even making $20 an hour.

"When I first started I was paid $17.70 an hour," she said.

"Since then I've had two pay rises, to $18.50 an hour and then, recently, I've gone up to $19.50.

"But that's the rate regardless of the day I'm working and the time. So that's public holidays, weekends, weekdays."

Award rates are complicated and vary depending on age, venue and responsibility.

As a casual Kim believes she should be getting $23.50 an hour for ordinary days.

Working about 30 hours a week, that means she may have lost around $150 a week for the past year.

Kim says underpayment is the norm in hospitality.

"I don't know anyone, really, who works in hospitality who gets paid award or penalty rates," she said.

"I think it's more common to not be paid properly than it is to be paid properly."

Kim Chibnall's employers, Cafe Touchwood, declined an interview with 7.30.

In a text message they said this was the first time Kim had raised her belief she was being underpaid.

They said they value their staff, and would seek advice to resolve the issue in a fair and correct manner.

Sorry, this video has expired Youth worker Keelia Fitzpatrick's top tips for young people starting their first job.

Keelia Fitzpatrick says underpayment is a big problem for young people.

"Wage theft is the number one issue that we see impacting young workers," she said.

"It's really become quite normalised in hospitality, in retail, in some areas of construction.

"It's just become the norm that paying award rates or following the minimum wage is an option that employers can or cannot follow.

"Employers are seeing others doing and it's becoming more and more common."

And the prospect of fines or other penalties don't seem to be a deterrent.

"There are penalties that exist under the Fair Work Act, but they're just not being enforced," Ms Fitzpatrick said.

"The Fair Work Ombudsman, who is the national body for investigating contraventions of the Fair Work Act, only took 55 matters to court last year."

'Wage theft has reached crisis point'

Many young workers aren't being paid penalty rates for weekends and public holidays. ( ABC News: Dan Harrison )

Peter Strong, chief executive of the Council of Small Business Australia, says the Fair Work Ombudsman needs to be better resourced to take action when employers don't do the right thing.

He believes most employers do the right thing, and those who don't should face the consequences.

"We're not in the business of defending them," he told 7.30.

"I think most young people who get a job are treated well and paid the right amount of money, and those who aren't should ring the Ombudsman."

Mr Strong also said a simpler system is needed so both employers and employees are better able to understand their rights and responsibilities.

Kim Chibnall has now quit her job and has decided to pursue her former employers for the backpay she believes she is owed.

Keelia Fitzpatrick says Kim is one of the few young people brave enough to challenge their alleged underpayment.

"We know that one-in-five young people isn't paid the minimum wage," she said.

"Wage theft has reached crisis point in Australia.