Facebook is set to hire 10000 in the (EU) ,European Union over the next five years, the social media giant said on Monday, to help build the so-called metaverse – a nascent online world where people exist and communicate in shared virtual spaces.

This would be a significant step the company is taking towards the concept, something top boss Mark Zuckerberg has touted in recent months.

Above is the post shared in July 27th by Facebook’s Zuckerberg outlining the plans for the ‘metaverse’ , Facebook is now set to hire 10000 to make the plans into a reality while creating much needed jobs.

In September, Facebook committed $50 million towards building the metaverse, where companies like Roblox Corp (RBLX.N) and “Fortnite” maker Epic Games have an early foothold.

The company earlier launched a test of a new virtual-reality remote work app where users of the company’s Oculus Quest 2 headsets can hold meetings as avatar versions of themselves.

Facebook also said in July it was creating a product team to work on the metaverse which would be part of Facebook Reality Labs, its augmented reality and virtual reality group.

“This investment (in new jobs) is a vote of confidence in the strength of the European tech industry and the potential of European tech talent,” the company said.

The social media giant said on Sunday it would hire high-skilled engineers in countries across the bloc. The company is focusing its recruitment drive on Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands and Ireland.

“Europe is hugely important to Facebook,” Nick Clegg, Facebook’s head of global affairs, and Javier Olivan, vice president of central products, said in a blog post Sunday night.

“Europe is hugely important to Facebook, and the move in which Facebook is set to hire 10000 people highlights that.

A number of other companies, including Microsoft, Roblox and Epic are investing in their own versions of the metaverse.