Thank-you for the suggestion,
Here is what I found (and did) in case anyone else is interested:
Code:
URL configFileURL = Class.class.getResource(TEST_CONFIG_PATH);
BufferedInputStream bis = new BufferedInputStream(Class.class.getResourceAsStream(TEST_PROPERTIES_PATH));
Properties properties = new Properties();
properties.load(bis);
bis.close();
Configuration configuration = (new Configuration().setProperties(properties)).configure(configFileURL);
SessionFactory factory = configuration.buildSessionFactory();
It seems to work nicely for me.