Earlier this year, South Tyneside College announced 100 jobs were being cut as it faced debts of more than �6m.

Now it is bringing in changes, including a shake-up of the management team, which it says will put it in a strong position for the future.

But unions say it means more uncertainty for staff who have already been hit hard by the job losses.

Current principal Pauline Piddington has decided to move into the new role of vice-principal, taking over responsibility for the curriculum, with Graham Beards joining the college as vice-principal for finance and resources.

A new principal is to be appointed.

College chairman of governors Alan Brewster said he was confident the recovery plan would work.

Staff uncertainty

He said: "The work we have done over the last 18 months, which unfortunately did include the redundancies, has brought us into what I would call, as a businessman, a trading break-even situation."

He said the debts came about because the college had to pay back funding after it failed to meet targets for student numbers.

But he added the debts had now been cleared.

As part of its recovery plan, the college has invested �1.5m in IT facilities, hair and beauty salons and music facilities. The cash comes from the Learning and Skills Council.

Joyce Harris, from lecturers' union Natfhe, said there was uncertainty among staff.

She said: "We hope that it is going to work, obviously, because that would secure the future of the college and the staff.

"But announcements like this have come at a particularly bad time for a number of our members and support staff whose jobs are still on the line at the moment."