Youth unemployment - what did we do wrong?

I’ve been employed for the last 2yrs since I graduated but until I started my own business it wasn’t in a field of my choosing and I was working for near minimum wage with no sign of change on the horizon, (and not a statistic despite feeling like one).

Why are young workers seen as unsuitable candidates for quality employment?

I find this even more puzzling as I watch my old management stumble over projects incompetently, ask the young graduates to do much of their work and generally do a mediocre job – all while commanding a high wage and position title.