How can I prove to my unemployment benefits case manager that certs are an absolute necessity for an

I am unemployed at present and need certifications. I am attempting to get state unemployment to pay for or partner for courses. I need some hard evidence to present to the case manager, showing why certifications are needed for an IT career. Currently I have five years help desk experience, but no formal training or certs. I know Win2k Pro, run a small LAN with two PCs connected to a Windows 2000 Server. Without formal training to prepare for exams, I am fighting an uphill battle. Any assistance you can provide would be helpful.
Your best source of ammunition is on Certification Magazine's Web site. You should be able to find recent, salary and employment surveys that indicate a positive correlation between technical certification and employment prospects as well as pay. I'd also urge you to clip hard-copy classified ads that mention certification requirements, and to build yourself a collection of online job postings that do the same. You should be able to make a pretty compelling case with this kind of information to bolster your contentions.

Good luck!
--Ed--

Editor's note: SearchWin2000.com also has a salary survey that you can use to compare salaries with certs and salaries without certs.