Career in Quality Assurance/ISO.. tips and suggestions please

[DonnyFenn]

Hello all. I was laid off from a small aviation supplier last year, where I had managed to reduce their warehouse order error rates from 5% to less than 0.1%. I was also very involved in their ISO procedures (and rewrote a few of them). In short, I'm able to channel my ANALytical tendencies in a very positive fashion in that sort of environment.

*EDIT* I spent 3 1/2 years at the aviation supplier, improving overall efficiency and quality control the whole time. Previous to that I worked 7 years as an [eventual] assitant manager at an importer warehouse where I was able to somewhat use this mindset to lay out a great bin-location system and provide some positive direction to their software systems and inventory practices.

However, I'm getting zero calls back from employers seeking ISO and QA staff due to having nothing but a few good reference letters from my previous employer. Would my best course of action be to take a lead auditor course from AQS etc. to legitimize my desire to work in the field? If not, what do I need to do to get my documentation in order?

Any info or advice would be appreciated. I'm a merit-oriented guy currently working at the bottom of a union pile paycheque-only job, and it's killing my soul knowing I'm ten YEARS away from a day shift or a summer holiday. There's no way I can stay there any longer than I have to.