Certification & Employment Catch-22

As a recently-unemployed IT professional, I decided (discovered) that I need some skill-set updating. I’m currently going through a series of courses leading to (hopefully) an MCDBA certification. My quandary is that to gain enough knowledge to pass the cert. tests I’ve seen it recommended that one spend a year or more actually working with the products (Win2K and SQL Servers) before even attempting the tests. But, in order to meet many employers’ qualifications a certification is required.So, what’s the best alternative method to studying for these exams when one is unemployed and has no practical method of contact with the products under study?

Thanks in advance for your assistance and advice.