The research problem is characterized by the contradiction between formal requirements regarding the skills of the head of an educational institution in Latvia and the respondents' stories of experience in using English as a foreign language in daily work.

The research problem emphasizes the need to see the interrelationships in the understanding of the managers of educational institutions about professional capital and the resources necessary for its provision. This study investigates the understanding of educational institution managers about English language skills as an element of professional capital.

The management of an educational institution in the 21st century must be able to demonstrate leadership skills in at least four different areas: teaching management, organizational management, public management and evidence-based management (Jellig, 2018).

However, what the leaders of educational institutions are forced to manage in the first place are the constant and rapid changes - both dictated by the digital revolution and curriculum reform, as well as the forms of learning caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the explosion of artificial intelligence in the field of education.
Therefore, the head of an educational institution should be both "professional" and "professional" at the same time (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012).
One must be able to understand and make informed decisions about both what programs to offer and how to spend the institution's budget most effectively. Achieving the desired result requires new skills - from ensuring the modern functionality of school premises to foreign language skills.

For additional formal compliance with the requirements of the law, the head of the educational institution is expected to have a series of skills that are constructed and determined by the relevant era, for example, foreign language skills.
During the period when Latvia was part of the USSR, a person who did not know the Russian language could practically not work as a head of an educational institution.

On the other hand, since the regaining of independence, Russian language skills are no longer important in the work and career opportunities of the head of an educational institution.
Instead, English language skills are assessed in some cases. Skills in other European languages can also become decisive.
This is also confirmed by the data obtained in the course of this research from the interviews of the respondents, which lead to the conclusion that foreign language skills affect the career ceiling or direction.

Qualitative research, phenomenological reduction was chosen as the basic research strategy. A semi-structured, individual, remote interview was used for data collection. The data were analyzed using the method of interpretative (hermeneutic) phenomenological analysis. The research sample is the managers and their deputies of general, professional and higher education institutions in Latvia. A purposive sampling strategy was chosen for the interview, that is, participants with intensive experience, as well as interview participants, were selected in such a way that each type of education was represented in equal proportion. Interview sample size n=6 participants, of which 2 respondents were heads of general secondary education institutions, 2 respondents were heads of vocational education institutions, 2 respondents were deputy heads (deans) of higher education institutions.

The state should more precisely define the skills that are set for potential and already working heads of educational institutions. An accurate listing of skills or skill groups by the state would serve as a basis for a more homogeneous quality of the professional capital of educational institution managers and to reduce the risk of unequal treatment The analysis of the interview data shows that the respondents are aware of English language skills as a necessary element of professional capital If professional capital is resources, investments and assets that create, define and develop a profession and its practice (Hargreaves, Fullan, 2012), then English language skills are considered an element of the professional capital of educational institution managers.

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