A handful of major U.S. companies pledged Thursday to train thousands of American workers over the next half decade as part of a new initiative by the Trump administration to improve workforce development and expand vocational training.

FedEx CEO Fred Smith told President Trump during an event at the White House the international shipping service plans "will train or re-skill 512,000 people over the next 5 years." Smith joined several other U.S.-based companies — including Apple, Walmart, IBM, and Boeing — that committed to increasing training opportunities for their workers.

Apple did not send a representative to attend Thursday's event, but said in a statement that it plans to train up to 10,000 more community college students over the next five years.

The commitments came as Trump signed an executive order establishing the National Council for the American Worker, an advisory board of administration officials, state and local leaders and industry executives that will work to address the most pressing workforce issues.

"America is blessed with the greatest workers anywhere in the world and today we are taking historic steps to ensure any American has their chance to realize their full potential," the president said at the event.

Trump applauded the various companies for their "civic leadership," and called on other industry giants to join his administration's effort in the years ahead.

Thursday's executive order follows a similar action Trump took last summer to substantially increase the number of apprenticeships available to students and low-skilled workers in the United States.