Lazy, unmotivated and uneducated - most of the million young people unemployed in Britain today are certainly not these things.
I want to tell you about Jess. She's the same age as me, 23, and lives in Glasgow. She has a beautiful baby boy who lives with a foster family and she wants to be a carer for older people so that she can support her child. But despite good qualifications, more than six months unpaid work experience in a care home and constantly firing out applications, she can't get a job. She's smart, honest and articulate but is getting absolutely nowhere.
Jess is the person that sits behind the statistics we read every day: one of the 957,000 under 16-24-year-olds who cannot get a job.
In a bid to piece together the real face of youth unemployment I took a three-week tour of the country - from Sheffield to Sunderland, Newcastle to Glasgow, Cardiff, small towns in Devon and up to Oxford. I met countless people who make up the figures and the youth workers and employers who are trying to help them. Unlike so many politicians in Westminster these people know what youth unemployment is really like and what needs to change.
From the first day of my trip it was evident that the vast majority of young people do want to work. They want to make their own money, whether to support a family and set a good example, or to buy nice clothes and go out with their friends on the weekend. They know work is the route to money and status.
These are Britain's bright young things and they have so much to offer. They are fresh, have hundreds of ideas and bags of energy. They are our country's most potent natural resource. They are desperate for someone to take a chance on them.
Yet Jess, and so many like her, is stranded in unemployment. Each employer, enterprise group and youth worker I spoke with knew that the Government is not doing enough, not even close. The much hailed Youth Contract, which 32% of firms have never heard of and 44% of firms would not even consider taking up, won't scratch the surface. Our leaders need to step up to the plate and offer a sustainable solution to a deep-rooted problem. These half-hearted, short-termist measures will not cut it.
Of course there is another side to the story. For every Jess there's also a Nadine. Last month she reluctantly took a work placement; she was late every morning and some afternoons she would walk out to meet friends. Quite frankly, she did not care, could not be bothered about getting a job and had absolutely no hope.
But whilst it is easy to write off this 19-year-old girl, you only have to dig a little deeper to understand her behaviour. She came into this world with everything against her; abandoned by her mother, forced into a child sex ring and in her teens she was routinely taking drugs. For Nadine getting to sleep at night is a challenge, let alone making it to work in the morning.
So yes, some young people don't want to work and on my trip I heard stories that would justify Lord Sugar's contention that "children are being brought up with their head in clouds and turn into young adults only fit for Government handouts." But often it's not a choice, they simply do not know any other way. Many of their parents were bought up on benefits, they in turn directed their kids to do the same and the vicious cycle continues.
This is a damaging phenomenon that has to stop. Too many young people feel let down by their schools, they leave without a CV and unprepared for a day at work. We need to get back to basics and ensure that the education system gives pupils the skills they need to secure and thrive in employment. It is counter-productive to have one operating in isolation from the other.
I heard of a pipeline scheme in the North East which will reach locals from four years old. This long term plan will grow around them, and employers will act as corporate parents to ensure that all children grow up comfortable with the workplace. These initiatives could help reassure employers and give all pupils the skills and confidence they need.
Amongst the hundreds of thousands of young unemployed there is a Dragon's Den of talent waiting to be unlocked and, as a nation, it is in our interests to help. We need to foster the future and make sure that tomorrow's Britain is strong, prosperous and exciting. The only way to guarantee this is to start making the most of our million young minds.
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