Northwestern Mutual’s internship program was recently named by Vault.com as the No. 1 internship for students seeking careers in the financial services industry, according to a news release from the insurance company, which added that its program ranks fifth across all industries on Vault’s Top Ten Internships for 2015.

“Our internship program is a cornerstone of our recruiting efforts,” said Lyndsey Stainback, chief recruiting officer for Northwestern Mutual-Eastern North Carolina, which includes the Wilmington market. “Nationally, 98 percent of our interns said they found the program instrumental or very helpful to their future careers – whether in the financial services industry, sales or other business endeavor.”

Interns are treated as full-fledged financial representatives and have the opportunity to build relationships and receive hands-on training and mentoring as they learn how to become successful entrepreneurs, the release stated.

More than 44,000 students have graduated from the program since it began in 1967. Today, the company expects that one-third of its interns will pursue full-time careers as financial representatives after graduation.