Serbia’s position as a regional logistics hub connecting Central Europe to the Balkans, Greece and Turkey has made warehousing, freight and distribution one of the country’s fastest-growing employment sectors. New distribution centres are opening around Belgrade, along the Corridor 10 highway network and near key border crossings. However, the workforce needed to run these centres is not growing at the same pace.

The blog provides Serbian employers with guidance on hiring warehouse workers Serbia, drivers, forklift operators and logistics staff, covering everything from workforce planning to screening.

Logistics Hiring Needs in Serbia

Today, a logistics recruitment agency in Serbia typically solves two problems at once: a shortage of licensed, experienced drivers and a broader labour supply gap affecting warehouse and equipment operator roles. This is because Serbia’s working-age population is shrinking. This means that, for logistics employers, hiring can no longer be treated as a simple, reactive process. It demands deliberate workforce planning at every level, from warehouse operatives to long-haul truck drivers.

Warehouse Staffing Roles

Warehouse staffing in Serbia encompasses a variety of roles, each with distinct hiring dynamics. This category includes picking and packing staff, inbound and outbound loading crews, inventory and stock control staff, and warehouse shift supervisors, and represents the highest-volume hiring need for most logistics and distribution employers.

The core challenge lies less in specialised skills and more in volume and shift reliability. Warehouses operating multiple shifts, particularly night and weekend rotations, are finding it increasingly difficult to fill local roles, as younger Serbian workers are increasingly favouring office-based or remote work over physically demanding shift-based roles.

Driver Recruitment

Employers consistently report that hiring truck drivers in Serbia is the hardest logistics staffing challenge. The country’s driver population is aging, and EU-standard licensing and CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) requirements have become more specific. Experienced drivers are also increasingly being drawn to Western European logistics companies, which offer substantially higher pay for the same international routes.

The shortage is most acute for long-haul international drivers, who require category C+E licensing, cross-border documentation experience and a clean driving record simultaneously – a combination that an increasingly shrinking domestic pool cannot supply in the volume that Serbian freight and distribution companies now need.

Forklift and Equipment Operators

Recruitment of forklift operators in Serbia occupies a middle ground between the high-volume, low-certification nature of general warehouse staffing Serbia and the highly regulated world of driver recruitment.

Demand has grown quickly alongside Serbia’s warehouse expansion, and many distribution centres now report multi-week delays filling certified operator positions, particularly for specialised equipment such as reach trucks and order pickers used in high-throughput facilities.

Shift and Volume Planning

The staffing needs of logistics operations are rarely flat or predictable. Seasonal peaks, new contract wins, and 24/7 warehouse operations all create fluctuating demand that a fixed permanent workforce struggles to absorb efficiently.

Warehouse staffing in Serbia increasingly relies on a blended workforce model – a stable core of permanent staff supplemented by flexible, temporary, or agency-sourced workers who can be scaled up quickly for peak periods and scaled back down without the cost and complexity of permanent headcount adjustments.

Screening and Licence Checks

A logistics company’s hiring process in Serbia would benefit from a rigorous screening procedure, including:

• Verification of the driving licence category and a CPC certificate,
• Checking the driving record and history of accidents,
• Confirmation of forklift and other equipment operation certificates from relevant authorities,
• Physical fitness tests for jobs that involve lifting or carrying goods,
• Obtaining references from past logistics employers, rather than any other kind of work experience.

Local vs Foreign Labour

Like other businesses in the country, Serbian logistics employers face the same dilemma: they must either find ways to attract more skilled workers and compete for the limited domestic supply, or turn to foreign labour to fill roles for which there is insufficient local demand.

For long-haul driver roles in particular, foreign worker recruitment has moved from a contingency option to a mainstream strategy for many Serbian freight and distribution companies, as the domestic driver shortage shows no sign of reversing in the near term.

How to Brief a Recruitment Agency

Logistics hiring moves fastest and most reliably when the recruitment agency in Serbia‘s brief is specific and complete from the outset. A strong brief for warehouse, driver, or forklift operator recruitment should clearly specify the exact role, shift pattern, and site location; required licences, certifications, and minimum experience thresholds; whether the need is permanent, temporary, or seasonal; realistic wage benchmarks aligned to current market rates; and whether the employer is open to foreign worker sourcing for the role in question.

Employers who plan shifts and staffing levels, conduct thorough screening processes, and are open to hiring foreign labour when the local supply is insufficient consistently have a fully staffed workforce.

How Oman Agencies Supports Successful Logistics Hiring in Serbia

Maintaining a fully staffed logistics operation requires a coordinated, planned hiring approach that Oman Agencies provides to Serbian employers. Oman Agencies sources warehouse staff and certified forklift operators locally, while managing international recruitment pipelines for long-haul positions, where Serbia’s domestic pool has become insufficient. Serbian logistics operators who need a recruitment partner that understands the sector’s specific licensing, safety and scaling requirements need look no further than Oman Agencies.