Richard Branson is the ideal celebrity trainer

A revealing study has shown more people would rather learn from self-made millionaire, Richard Branson, than the country's own PM, Tony Blair.

That's the result of research conducted by Parity, the training specialist, which showed 67% of the 226 people surveyed placed the British entrepreneur as their ideal 'celebrity trainer'. In joint second place came media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and business guru John Harvey-Jones, each backed by a quarter of those polled.

Participants were asked to indicate their top three ideal trainers from the business world, as part of an investigation into what makes a good instructor. Although behind Branson, Tony Blair did make it into the top five - 19% wanted to learn from the PM.

Anita Roddick, the Bodyshop founder, was the highest ranked woman, but was selected by just one in 7 people.

Overall, women faired less well in the poll: Clara Furse (0.8%), the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange and MP Ann Widdecombe (5.7%) came in the bottom five, alongside Howard Marks (4.4%), Nick Leeson (6%) and Jeffrey Archer (7.5%).

"Success seems to stick in people's minds, and an entrepreneurial spirit counts for a lot," said Barbara Greenway, managing director at Parity's Training Division. "As life-long learning becomes a reality in the modern business world, individuals are becoming more responsible for their own development and are looking for inspiration from people who have achieved something significant whatever their profession."

"Few get the opportunity to be trained by a famous person," Greenway continued. "Even so, the experience and credibility of the trainer should influence the courses you select. People learn from people. Whatever delivery mechanism an organisation might chose to train their staff, delegates most want to ask 'how did you do it?' and get an insider's view."

For more information about training company Parity Group plc Click here.